Dreams
by Iceman99
Summary: When faced with defeat, some give up. Some thrive in the pressure. Others crack. Through this, some gain new friends, new dreams, and new adventures. Follow Ash and company on their legendary journey around the Hoenn region, where new friends and adventures await! Slightly non-canon Ash (progressively smarter).
1. Change of Heart

Today was supposed to be a very exciting day for a certain hat-wearing trainer with a Pikachu. However, things did not start off that way.

"Ash, come on!" Misty whined, "If you don't hurry up, we'll miss the Tour de Alto Mare!"

Ash groaned, and rolled over in his bed, not particularly liking Misty's whining, "Misty, you can go if you want to. I'm just not feeling up to doing anything today."

Brock decided to jump into the conversation at this point, "Ash, you haven't wanted to do anything since you lost in the Silver League Conference. I think doing this will not only help raise your spirits, but also your Pokémon's spirits. Do you think they've been taking this loss lightly?" he inquired.

Ash thought about Brock's suggestion. He always knew what to say when he was feeling sad, "Thanks Brocko," he replied with a smile, "I think I will participate. My Pokémon are probably down from my loss, too."

Misty nearly exploded from joy, seeing as the trio was finally going to the Tour de Alto Mare, and ran out of the room. Brock and Ash both sheepishly chuckled at her reaction.

Brock smiled back at Ash, and said, "No problem Ash. I knew you were feeling down, and I felt like it was my job to help you. You're like a brother to me."

Ash was touched by what Brock had just said to him, and said, "Brock, I view you as a brother as well. If you were in my shoes, I would've tried to cheer you up too."

Ash got out of his bed, waking Pikachu up in the process, and said Pikachu shocked him. After Ash recovered from the shock, he continued, "You know Brock, I'm not sure Misty remembered we're still on a boat. She couldn't even go to the Tour de Alto Mare yet if she wanted to." Ash pointed out, Pikachu now on his shoulder.

"You're right." Brock said with a chuckle, "Let's go find her." They then went out the door to find Misty.

* * *

Ash and Brock were tired of looking for Misty. The duo had searched all of the ship except for the training area.

'Where could she be?' Ash thought, 'We've searched everywhere except... for the... training area.' Ash finished.

"Hey Brock?" Ash inquired, "I just realized that we haven't even checked the training area yet."

Brock facefaulted after hearing this. After waiting for Brock to get back up, they proceeded to the training area, where Misty was training with her Corsola.

The Captain of the boat came over the speaker system, saying, "We will dock in Alto Mare in 30 minutes. Please get ready to depart the boat now." Ash and Brock then went to get Misty, and went to go grab their belongings.

* * *

"Alright, the Tour de Alto Mare starts in an hour. We need to register, so let's head to the Pokémon Center." Brock advised.

After registering Totodile for Ash and Corsola for Misty, they made their way to the event, meeting last year's champion, a man by the name of Ross, who they talked with until they had to start. They wished each other good luck, and got ready to race.

Brock sat in the stands, cheering for both Ash and Misty.

The race was going well, for the most part, with Ash, Misty, and a man named Ross alternating for the top spot. Everything was looking good for Ash until Totodile took a wrong turn, causing Ash to go off course.

"Aaaah!" Ash cried, as Totodile went off of the course, "Where are you taking me?!" he yelled. Totodile just looked back and smirked at him. Now, Ash wasn't mad at Totodile for going off course, he was scared that he would get lost in the city's canals.

Little did Ash know, he was being led by two legendary dragons, who were currently invisible.

* * *

Ash was frustrated. This was supposed to be a vacation, and here he was, lost in a maze of a city. He decided the best course of action was to go back to the starting line of the Tour de Alto Mare, which was where the winner would be announced. There was also a good chance someone was sent out to search for him, so it was the safest bet to find his way back to the starting line.

After numerous times of getting lost, at times even letting Pikachu guide him, Ash decided to ask a girl that was probably a few years older then him for directions. "Excuse me Miss?" Said girl turned around, and smiled, "Do you happen to know where the starting line for the Tour de Alto Mare is?" Ash inquired.

"Of course! If you just take that street down, and take your first right, you can't miss it." she said while pointing down a street to her left.

Ash sighed in relief. He actually knew where he was going, for once, "Thank you Miss..." Ash trailed off, looking for her name.

"Bianca. Just call me Bianca." She provided.

"Thanks for the directions Bianca! I'm Ash, and this is my best buddy Pikachu!"

"Pika!" chimed Pikachu.

Bianca giggled at Ash's energetic personality, and they both said their goodbyes, with Bianca telling Ash that he could stop by their house any time, and gave him directions, which, as we all know, is Ash's specialty. Thankfully, Pikachu had at least some sense of direction.

After walking for 10 more minutes, he was at the starting line. Ash spotted Brock in the crowd, and ran over to him. The race had just ended, and Misty was being awarded a medal.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Brock asking, "So how did you get lost? One second you were neck and neck with Misty and Ross, and the next, Totodile takes a wrong turn." Brock said in disbelief.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. He was following something, though. I'm sure of it. Although I didn't see anything besides the occasional Magikarp and some Chinchou." Ash replied, "It probably wasn't very important, though. Totodile stopped and let me get back to land after about 15 minutes, so he must've lost interest."

Brock nodded in agreement as Misty came over, Ross in tow. Ash noticed her medal, and asked her, "Hey Mist, what are those two Pokémon on the medal?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, "But hey, I won!"

After congratulations from Ash, Brock, and Pikachu, Ross approached Ash, asking him, "Ash, I remember you asked Misty about the two Pokémon on her medal. If you would like, I can take you on a tour of the city, and explain the legend behind those two." he offered.

The trio hastily accepted his offer.

* * *

Ash had never quite realized how beautiful the city of Alto Mare was. He was currently enjoying a tour of the city in Ross' gondola.

"Ross, could you tell us about those Pokémon now?" Ash asked.

"Sure," Ross replied, "The primarily blue Pokémon on Misty's medal is called Latios, whereas the primarily red one is called Latias. The story behind the two started when a Pokémon Trainer used a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl to terrorize the citizens. He was continuing to terrorize and destroy the city until the original Latios came to our city. He used his powers to drown the evil Pokémon, therefore turning the streets into canals. However, Latios died from using all of his energy, and his children were left orphans. His children are said to watch over and protect the city of Alto Mare. His soul is within a special jewel called the Soul Dew which is a beautiful small, blue glowing orb."

Ash was mesmerized by the information given to him, and started daydreaming about what they were like. Brock and Misty were also stunned at the story behind those two.

"What I would give to meet those two..." Ash trailed off.

Ross, hearing this, smiled at Ash's words, and allowed the trio to finish the trip in contemplative silence.

* * *

**(A/N) Hey everyone! Sorry if the first chapter is a little boring, but the next chapter will definitely be longer, and this was necessary to set the scene for the story. I should have the next chapter up within 2 days, but probably tomorrow. Let me know what you think about it.**

**Until next time, **

**-Ice**


	2. New Friends and Enemies

After thanking Ross for giving them a tour of the city, it was starting to get a little late.

"Hey Ash, Misty. Why don't we go find a snack and then pack it in for the night?" suggested Brock.

"Okay. Let's go get ice cream!" Ash replied. Misty nodded, silently agreeing with the idea.

They started off towards a nearby ice cream stand, right next to the Museum, but at that moment, Ash saw his new friend, Bianca.

"Hey guys, I'll be back soon! I'm just gonna go say hi to a friend of mine!" he yelled as he raced off from the group, trying to catch up to Bianca.

"Ash, wait up!" called Misty. However, their attempts to call Ash back were in vain.

* * *

Bianca turned down an alleyway, and to Ash, simply disappeared. He had no idea where she could've gone.

"Pikachu, Pika!" Pikachu cried out from Ash's shoulder, jumping off in the process.

Ash thought Pikachu had found Bianca, but, in fact, he had found a water fountain for Pokémon. Ash chuckled while walking over to retrieve Pikachu, who was currently disheartened by the fact that no one was there to turn the handle on the fountain for him.

A girl walked up to the fountain that looked like Bianca, and turned the handle for Pikachu.

Pikachu let out a delighted, "Chaaa." in the process of soaking himself. Ash caught up to Pikachu, and tried to call him back, asking if he wanted any ice cream. He then decided to look up to see just who had turned the handle for Pikachu.

"Oh hey Bianca! Thanks for turning the handle for Pikachu here!" Ash thanked her enthusiastically.

"Pika!" Pikachu followed in his trainer's actions.

She walked around the fountain, and stepped up to Ash. Then, she walked around him, examining him, and ran off through a sidestreet, leaving a very confused Ash. Seeing as how he was lost, Ash decided to follow her.

But little did Ash know, someone was following his new friend as well, only they had ill intentions...

* * *

As three familiar faces to our trio of heroes sat down to enjoy some ice cream, a boat zoomed past, drenching them, and ruining their ice cream, enraging a violet haired women by the name of Jessie.

"Jessie! Do you know who that was?" James questioned.

"Grrrr... All I know is that they owe me an ice cream!" Jessie replied hotly.

"Jessie, I think dat was Annie and Oakley!" Meowth provided.

"I don't care about who they are as long as I get my ice cream!" Jessie replied, still upset over her ice cream being ruined.

"Jessie, you might want to know that Annie and Oakley are spies working for Giovanni!" James replied in a hushed tone.

Jessie suddenly had a revelation, "Well if they're spies for the boss, why don't we follow them. It could be our chance to impress the boss!" she smirked, "Plus, they still owe me a mint chocolate chip."

* * *

As Bianca was walking down a street next to a canal, a boat pulled up to her, with two women inside.

"Excuse me!" The blonde haired one said, "Where'd you get that shirt? ...Latias." she finished in a sinister tone.

Latias gasped, 'How could they know that I'm not a human girl?' she thought frantically as the two women called out their Ariados and Espeon to corner her. 'I wish that boy with the Pikachu was still here.' she hoped.

As the Espeon had just trapped her in a psychic hold, she couldn't escape the String Shot that was inevitably going to bind her to the wall. Latias just hoped someone would come along and save her.

At that moment, a certain hat wearing trainer and his electric mouse arrived next to Latias, who was bound to a wall. Ash couldn't believe that someone would attack a person with no Pokémon on them.

Latias was slightly surprised that the boy with the Pikachu had actually shown up to help her.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Ash roared as he untied Latias.

"Oh look, the little girl has a bodyguard." Annie teased.

"Maybe you should give her some tips on fashion." Oakley suggested in a tone full of malice.

Ash wasn't quite sure what led to this situation, but he was sure about one thing. He would get his friend out of here.

"We can't let anyone get in our way, so I suggest you leave." Annie told him.

"Never!" Ash yelled at the two spies.

"I guess you want to do this the hard way. Espeon, use Psybeam!" she commanded.

Ash saw that the beam was headed towards Latias, and stepped in the way of the attack, taking it head on. He quickly shook the attack off and glared at Annie and Oakley. "That's a dirty trick." he growled, "And two can play at that game! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he countered.

"Pikachu!" exclaimed Pikachu as a bolt of lightning arced out from his body, hitting Espeon, Annie and Oakley, leaving them paralyzed for the moment.

"C'mon, let's move!" Ash cried as he grabbed Latias' hand and proceeded to run in a different direction.

Pikachu, looking back, saw that he had not shocked Ariados, so he gave Ariados a shock, just to be sure, and then caught back up with his trainer.

* * *

Pikachu, Ash, and Latias, who was currently disguised, were running through the city's alleyways, and succeeding at evading the Ariados and Espeon. As they reached a clearing, Ash wasn't sure where to turn. Latias saw his hesitation, and decided to drag Ash up a flight of stairs, Pikachu in tow.

"Woah!" Ash exclaimed, not expecting to be dragged up stairs, "Where are we going?" he asked.

Latias gave no answer, and as soon as they reached the top of the stairs, she pointed over a railing. Ash was amazed that she knew this is where his friends were, but as he turned back around, Latias was nowhere to be found.

"Bianca? … She's not here. Where did she go?" Ash questioned silently.

Latias heard Ash's words as she went away from him, and thought to herself, 'So he knows Bianca? Hmmm. I'll have to ask her about this. I wish there was some way I could thank him in my human form.' she sighed, unable to express her gratitude to her savior.

"Hey Ash! We're going to go to the museum!" Misty's voice brought Ash out of his trance.

"You should've gotten some ice cream! It's really good!" Brock yelled to him.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys there." he replied to his friends down below.

'I don't know what was up with that whole encounter, and I'm sure that was Bianca, right? But, something just seemed… different.' his thoughts trailed off as he walked in the direction of the museum.

* * *

**(A/N) This chapter is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be, and, in fact, not longer than the last chapter, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. Tell me what you guys think I'm doing wrong, and what I'm doing right in a review, and PM with any questions. Thanks to RGGod for the first review, as well!**

**Until next time,**

**-Ice**


	3. History

As Ash headed over to the museum, he was mentally entertaining the possibility that the person he had just helped out was actually not Bianca.

Ash was brought out of his train of thought when Pikachu tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed towards the museum. Ash noticed Brock and Misty waving at him.

"Hey Ash, did you catch up with her?" Misty inquired.

"You could say that." he replied, lost in thought.

Misty frowned at his reply, and looked over at Brock, who shrugged, "Hey Ash, why don't we go into the museum now?" He suggested.

"...Huh? Oh, sure." Ash replied after he processed the question.

"You know," Misty started as they walked into the museum, "I think something happened to him. He's really deep in thought."Brock nodded in agreement.

"Here, I have an idea. Hey Ash!" Brock called.

"Yeah, what's up?" Ash said without turning around.

"Look, we know something's bothering you, and it looks like you can't really do anything about it now. So, why don't you just relax, and enjoy the museum?" Brock advised.

"...I guess you're right." Ash admitted with a sigh, "I'll try to relax." he finished with a smile.

"Alright, let's have some fun!" Misty exclaimed as the trio headed off into the museum.

(Line break)

As our heroes entered the museum, Ash was scanning the area for any more information on the two Pokemon he had heard about earlier, Latias and Latios.

"Hello! a voice called out from behind them, "Allow me to give you all a tour of the museum. You three look new around here. I'll tell you a little about this beautiful city in the process." he offered.

"Thanks!" Ash accepted, " My name is Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu! he finished.

Pikachu responded to this with a cheerful "Pikachu!"

"My name is Brock." Brock told the man.

"And I'm Misty!" Misty chimed.

"And my name is Lorenzo." he told the trio, "Let's get started!"

* * *

As Ash, Misty and Brock were led around the museum by Lorenzo, he stopped in front of a large object that seemed to be attracting the attention of many people.

Ash, Brock and Misty were all lost in thought about what this contraption could be, but were brought out of their thoughts by an explanation from Lorenzo, "This is the Defense Mechanism of Altomare, or DMA, for short. What it does is sort of self explanatory… It is here to protect the city if it is ever under attack. There is a place for a Soul Dew in this machine, which is a jewel that contains the soul of a deceased Latias or Latios." Lorenzo explained.

"Wow..." Ash, Brock and Misty chorused in unison.

Lorenzo took this time to tell the trio about Altomare's two guardians, "A long time ago, " he began, drawing the attention of Ash, Brock and Misty, "Altomare was just a small town. One day, an old couple walking along the beach found two unconscious children lying in the sand. They brought the children home and took care of them. Soon after, a dark cloud above Altomare rained down shards of darkness. Anything these shards touched became dark as well." he paused to let the trio process this.

"Hmmm…" Ash hummed in thought.

Lorenzo continued, "One shard was about to hit the old couple when the children started to glow and all the shards were destroyed. The children revealed themselves as Latios and Latias. More appeared, one of them carrying the Soul Dew. Their power, combined with the Soul Dew's, shone upon the dark cloud, vanquishing it. In gratitude for their help, the two Latios and Latias gave the Soul Dew to the old couple."

"So what happened to the original Latias and Latios? We were told that the current guardians are the original's children." Ash inquired.

"Ah, so you know a little bit about the city's guardians already?" Lorenzo asked, to which he received nods in response, "Alright, so the current ones are his children, and his mate, the original Latias, was killed along with Latios whilst they were defending the city from a Kabutops and Aerodactyl, though not many know."

"So are there two souls in the current Soul Dew?" Brock theorized.

"Yes, there are. You're quite perceptive." he confirmed, "These souls only move on once they are replaced by new ones."

"So would there be any way to remove the souls from the Soul Dew?" Misty asked, "I mean, besides them being replaced by other souls."

"Well, it's not a sure bet, but if a being gave their aura to the Soul Dew, it may be able to form a new Latios or Latias, but that would more than likely result in the giver of the aura dying." Lorenzo responded.

"Ah, I see." Misty responded.

Little did Ash know, Annie and Oakley were gathering as much information on Latios and Latias as they could, spying on their trip through the museum to gather info.

* * *

**(A/N) I know that I keep putting off the action, but this was just a good place to stop this chapter, so sorry if you were expecting more than some dialogue. Anyway, let me know what you like and don't like about the story, and as always, PM me with any questions or suggestions or leave them in a review. Next chapter should be out much faster than this one. **

**Until next time, **

**-Ice**


	4. Revelations

After the tour through the museum, our trio of heroes decided to go to the Pokémon Center, and pack it in for the night.

As they walked through the doors, Nurse Joy greeted them with, "Good evening! Would you like me to heal any of your Pokémon?"

As Brock and Misty shook their heads, Ash nodded, "Could you give my Totodile a check-up please? He participated in the Tour de Altomare earlier today."

Nurse Joy replied, "Sure! I'll call you up when I'm done." as Brock raced up to her.

"Oh Nurse Joy, if only you could give me a check- Ah! Misty, not the ear!" Brock yelped as he was being pulled away by Misty.

"C'mon lover boy. Let's go before the police have to give you a 'check-up'." Misty scolded.

"But that would mean I get to see Jenny!" he moaned.

"Uhh..." Ash trailed off as Nurse Joy went to give Totodile a check-up.

As Ash went to go sit down, he thought about the day's events.

'...Was that person actually Bianca? I know that she looked the same, and was wearing the same clothing, but... the first time I saw her, I'm pretty sure that she was wearing a beret. Oh well. I'll find out tomorrow. Maybe it was just her twin...' Ash's thoughts drifted off as Brock and Misty re-entered the Pokémon Center.

"Trainer Ash Ketchum, your Pokémon is ready to be picked up." Nurse Joy called.

Ash walked up to the counter, "Thanks Nurse Joy! How is he doing?" he inquired as he took Totodile's Poké Ball.

"He's doing just fine! All he needs is a good night's sleep." she responded.

"Alright, thank you! And goodnight!" he called as he went up the stairs to his room to sleep, Brock and Misty in tow.

* * *

"Ahhh!" Ash woke up, sweating profusely.

'What was that about?' he thought, 'That was really weird. I dreamt that I was in the middle of a big fight with Team Rocket, and that Brock and Misty were fighting with me. And, something-no, someone died."

He shook his head as he rose from his bed, and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, so as to clear his mind.

Ash had the feeling that what happened in his dream shouldn't be disregarded, and decided to tell Brock and Misty during breakfast.

As he walked down the stairs to the cafeteria, he spotted Brock and Misty already getting their breakfast, and getting a table. Brock waved to Ash and motioned for him to come over.

After getting his breakfast and sitting down, Ash decided this would be a good time to tell Brock and Misty, "So, last night, I had a dream where all three of us were fighting against Team Rocket, and someone died. I don't know if it was any of us three, but it wasn't someone on Team Rocket." Ash explained.

"But Ash, that was just a dream, you can't be sure that it'll happen." Misty responded, to which Brock nodded in agreement to.

"I know Misty, but I have the feeling that the dream was just a warning, so I'm going to call Professor Oak and switch out some Pokémon. Just have a team of six capable Pokémon ready to go." he advised and went off to the lobby of the Pokémon Center, locating the videophones in the far left of the center.

Ash punched in the number for Professor Oak, and waited as the phone connected.

"Hey Professor!" Ash greeted.

"Hello Ash, how are you doing?" Professor Oak inquired as his picture came up on the screen.

"I'm doing well Professor, but I called you to make some switches." Ash responded.

"What for, my boy? You just finished the Silver Conference." he stated.

"Well Professor, I have a feeling that something is going to happen today. Something that will require my strongest." Ash told Professor Oak.

"Alright, who would you like to switch out?" he asked.

"I'd like to switch Totodile for Bulbasaur, and Noctowl for Snorlax, please." Ash requested.

"Alright, you know the drill." Professor Oak told Ash as he exchanged the Pokémon.

"Okay, thanks Professor!" Ash told him.

"You're welcome. Stay safe Ash." he replied.

"I will." Ash responded, and with that, hung up.

Ash, Brock and Misty met back up in the lobby, and decided to explore the city more, as there was so much to see.

The trio wandered around the city for a few hours, seeing various sights, when they decided it was time for lunch.

After a satisfying lunch, they walked around the city more, stopping to get the ice cream that Ash had missed out on before.

They explored a little more of the city, and, before they knew it, it was early evening, so they decided to stop for dinner, and then check out a few more things after dinner.

After Ash had finished his dinner, he had decided to go off with Pikachu to find Bianca, and see if she could show them parts of the city that they had missed, which Brock and Misty thought was a good idea.

Ash was following the directions that Bianca had given him, when he spotted Bianca running down the street.

Ash decided that trying to catch up to her was the best approach, he ran after her.

Ash saw her turn down an alleyway and ran to catch up with her.

As Ash rounded the corner to the alleyway, he was greeted with a dead end. He thought he had taken a wrong turn, but decided to see if there was anything he couldn't see, and tried to knock on the wall. Ash nearly fell over in surprise when he realized that the wall in front of him was, in fact, not solid.

'What could go wrong?' he thought, and proceeded through the illusion in front of him, only to be greeted with a beautiful garden.

As soon as he and Pikachu stepped in, their presence was noticed by a certain blue dragon Pokémon.

Ash was too busy marveling in the sight of the garden to notice said dragon speeding towards him and Pikachu.

Ash gave a startled gasp as he was tackled, and instantly recognized that the Pokémon who had tackled him saw him as a threat.

"Wait, I'm not here to hurt you!" Ash pleaded. However, his plea fell on deaf ears as he and Pikachu were pinned to the wall by a Psychic courtesy of the Pokémon in front of him, who was currently baring its fangs at the two.

Ash's eyes widened in realization as he recognized the Pokémon in front of him to be none other than the legendary Pokémon Latios.

"Latios, what's wrong?" a feminine voice inquired.

Latios moved aside to give Bianca a clear view of the invader, and she was surprised by who it was.

"Ash, why are you in here?" she asked incredulously as Latios gave her a questioning look, as Bianca knew the person who had just found his way into his and Latias' safe haven.

"Uh... If I could get out of the hold of Psychic, it'd be a lot easier to talk." Ash bargained in a strained voice.

Latios decided to entertain his request, and threw him down onto the floor with Psychic.

"Thanks." Ash told Latios, who was taken aback by this. He figured that the human in front of him, Ash, would be angry at him because he threw Ash on the floor.

"Bianca, is there anything wrong?" someone called.

"No, everything is under control. Although you might want to come here anyway." Bianca suggested.

"Ash?"

"Lorenzo?"

"So it seems you already know my grandfather?" Bianca asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"Uh, yeah. He gave me and my friends a tour of the museum yesterday." Ash responded.

"So how did you manage to find your way in here?" Lorenzo questioned sternly.

"Well, I can tell that you guys are angry with me for coming here, so I'll explain. After lunch, me and my friends wanted to know if there were any cool places that we should see around the city. So I decided to try and find your house, using the directions you gave me, when I saw Bianca going down the street, and decided to follow her so I could ask you about the city, and here I am now." Ash explained.

"So you followed me into the garden?" Bianca asked him as she received a glare from Latios.

"Well, kinda. I didn't actually follow you in. I saw you turn down this alleyway, and when I didn't see you, I decided to see if there was anything behind the wall, so I tried to knock on the wall. When my hand went through it, I kinda realized there was something behind it."

Bianca was relieved to know that Ash wasn't here to hurt the dragons, and she now seemed to not be angry with Ash.

Latias was curious as to why her brother, Bianca or Lorenzo had not yet returned, so she decided to investigate the situation for herself, after reverting to her human form.

Latios nearly had a heart attack when he saw his sister coming towards them, and tried to get her to go back, telling her through their mental link that this was a potentially dangerous situation.

Latias, being the responsible dragon she was, disregarded what Latios said, and approached Ash anyway.

Ash had to do a double-take when he saw Bianca and her apparent twin.

Bianca sighed when she saw Latias coming towards them, "Ash, this is my twin, Tia." she explained.

Latias immediately recongnized Ash as the boy with the Pikachu who saved her, and gave a friendly wave, which Ash returned.

"You know Ash too?" Bianca asked incredulously.

Latias nodded vigorously and decided that since Ash was in their garden, it was safe to change back to her real form.

Latios, Bianca and Lorenzo watched in a mixture of shock and horror as Latias reverted back to her true form.

"You're a Latias?!" Ash questioned in disbelief.

Latias cooed and flew up to Ash, nuzzling him.

"So you're the one I saved from those two attackers?" Ash asked, to which Latias nodded.

Pikachu decided to see if Latias wanted to play a game, and went off with her to do just that.

"Uh, sorry for coming in here. I didn't know this was your garden, Latios." Ash apologized.

Latios was thankful that the human in from of him had saved his sister, but he still didn't trust humans. His response was to just stare at Ash.

"Sorry about Latios, Ash. He really doesn't trust humans. It's not just you." Bianca explained.

"That's okay. I wouldn't trust anyone who came into my home at random, either." Ash replied with a smile and a chuckle as he watched Pikachu and Latias play with the Pokémon living in the garden.

As Ash, Bianca and Lorenzo engaged in conversation, two of Giovanni's spies named Annie and Oakley readied themselves to capture two legendary dragons.

They had gathered all of the information they needed, and had their attack all planned out.

As Oakley retrieved their spy bot, she gave Annie the signal to start, and entered the garden undetected through Lorenzo's workshop.

Annie entered the garden from the illusion of the wall, taking everyone by surprise, "Espeon, Psychic!" she commanded as Espeon was released from his Poké Ball.

Everyone was caught in the grasp of Psychic, save for Latios and Latias, as they were powerful Psychics as well.

Latios took this time to tackle Espeon, effectively knocking him out.

Annie just smirked as she returned Espeon, and threw down a smoke pellet. Latios and Latias used Psychic to dissipate the smokescreen, only to find out that their assailant had escaped.

'Shoot. I don't like the feeling of this' Latios cursed inwardly.

"Those guys were the ones that attacked Latias earlier!" Ash exclaimed.

"So then they must've been after something." Lorenzo deduced.

"And they're not gonna get away with it." Ash growled.

Latios then noticed that the Soul Dew was not on its pedestal, and called out to Latias.

All that Ash, Bianca and Lorenzo heard were seemingly random coos and squeaks, until Latias motioned to the pedestal, at which point Bianca noticed the Soul Dew was missing.

"Grandpa, the Soul Dew was taken!" Bianca exclaimed.

"What?! Let's go get it back!" Lorenzo replied.

Latios took off to retrieve the Soul Dew, and Latias waited for Ash to direct Charizard before taking off.

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed as he called out Charizard and got on his back, telling him, "Charizard, I need you to follow Latias for me. Someone stole the Soul Dew from the garden, and we've gotta get it back!" Ash explained.

Charizard growled at the mention of thieves, and spread his wings, ready to fly.

"Alright, let's get it back!" Ash cried as Charizard took off after Latias.

The city looked perfectly normal as they flew over, the few citizens in the streets were in no hurry at all. It was almost as if nothing was amiss.

A fierce cry brought Ash out of his train of thought, as an Aerodactyl came out of the buildings, aimed directly for Latias.

Ash noticed this and called out to Latias, "Latias, to your left!"

Latias was in no position to avoid the Aerodactyl coming at her neck with a Crunch attack, and Ash noticed this.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" he commanded quickly.

The Aerodactyl was not expecting to be hit with a jet of flames. Even though she was resistant to fire, it didn't help that her mouth was open.

Ash noticed that he had drawn Aerodactyl's focus to himself, and didn't give her a chance to recover.

"Pikachu, hit 'em with a Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.

The Aerodactyl managed to endure the electric attack, and Ash noticed that something was wrong with her, as no normal type could just shake off a full powered Thunderbolt from Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thundershock on Aerodactyl's collar! Aim for the light!" he advised.

As Pikachu's attack destroyed Aerodactyl's collar, she calmed down immediately, and went up to Ash, with her head down.

Ash immediately knew that Aerodactyl was not in control of her actions and sought forgiveness, so he quickly responded, "Shhh. It's okay, everyone's okay." Ash soothed as stroked her head.

"Hey Aerodactyl, did two people with an Espeon and an Ariados do this to you?" Ash asked.

"Do you want to help us?" Ash asked, to which Aerodactyl nodded and roared. With that, they were off to the museum.

* * *

Back at the museum, Latios was in big trouble. Currently, he, along with the Soul Dew, were stuck in the Defense Mechanism of Altomare, and it was pretty painful for Latios.

Latios just wished that he could contact his sister, but the DMA was draining his power, and he couldn't afford to go unconcious from the effort.

Oakley came running into the room that he and Annie were in, and told her, "The kid with the Pikachu and a Latias are back."

Annie just smirked, "They won't know what hit 'em." she replied, malice in her voice as the two spies went outside.

* * *

"There's the museum." Ash whispered to himself, nervous to see what would come next.

He saw Annie and Oakley outside of the museum, and knew that he was a target when he saw both of their Pokémon staring at him.

Espeon fired a Shadow Ball at Charizard, who still had Ash on his back.

"Dodge left, Charizard!" Ash told him.

Charizard dodged the Shadow Ball with ease, and smirked as he delivered a Flamethrower to Espeon.

"Good job!" Ash praised.

Little did Ash and Charizard know, the Shadow Ball was just a distraction, as Charizard was quickly wrapped up with a String Shot courtesy of Oakley's Ariados.

Ash fell off of Charizard, and was speeding towards the ground as he recalled Charizard, to save him from at least a 3 story fall.

"Aaaah!" Ash screamed. He thought it was all over. Latias was too far away to save him, and he would die as soon as he hit the ground.

Ash was less than 10 feet from the ground when he landed on the back of Aerodactyl, who flew in to save him.

Ash blinked, surprised to be alive, when he realized his savior to be none other than Aerodactyl, "Aerodactyl?" he questioned.

He received an, "Aero!" in reply.

Aerodactyl was mad now. Annie and Oakley had captured her and put a collar in her to begin with, and they had almost just killed her savior.

"Thanks! Ready for our first battle?" Ash asked.

Aerodactyl responded with a roar and flew down, letting Ash off her back.

"Alright, Aerodactyl! Get in close with a Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl flew up to Espeon with lightning fast agility.

"Get it with a Crunch!" Aerodactyl gave Espeon the hardest Crunch that she could muster. Espeon couldn't take the super effective attack, and fainted instantly.

Ash looked to the right, only to see that Latias had dispatched Ariados.

"Great work you two!" Ash said, causing Latias to coo in response and Aerodactyl to roar in delight, "Latias, knock Annie and Oakley out for me, okay?" Latias nodded and used a Psychic the two spies unconcious before they could resist.

"Let's go everyone!" Ash yelled as he went inside the museum, Latias and Aerodactyl in tow.

Recalling where the DMA was, Ash went to find it, figuring that would be the place Latios would most likely be.

Ash had found the DMA rather quickly, and saw Latios struggling to escape.

"Hang on Latios, I'll get you out of there!" Ash promised, "Latias, do you think you can get Latios and the Soul Dew out of the DMA safely?"

"Laa." she responded as she flew over to the DMA and fired a DragonBreath at the pedestal holding the Soul Dew, and one at the arm above it, effectively freeing Latios and the Soul Dew, which Ash noticed had turned black.

Latios gave a nod to Ash and embraced his sister, when he noticed the state of the Soul Dew.

Latios realized that the Soul Dew had become corrupted, and knew what trouble that brought. He explained the situation to Ash through basic gestures.

"There's something wrong with the Soul Dew?" Ash questioned as the eon dragons flew out if the museum and into the sky.

When the two dragons were high above the city, they saw just how bad the situation was.

"Brother, what are we going to do?" Latias asked as a huge tidal wave approached the city.

"Well, we have to stop it." Latios replied, "We're guardians for a reason."

"Okay, I'm ready." Latias said. Both of them drew on their power, readying their strongest attacks to protect the city.

Latios realized that he would need more power, and knew what he had to do.

Both Latias and Latios grunted when the tidal wave impacted their attacks, Latios more so.

As the tidal wave dissipated, Latias went over to her brother, breathing heavily. Latias saw that he was glowing, and knew what he had done.

"Brother, why did you do it?" Latias said, holding back tears.

"I had to protect the city." he stated somberly.

"There has to be something I can do!" Latias sobbed as her brother winced and panted harder.

"Well, if you can find someone with a pure aura, they could be able to save me, but they will most likely die." Latios replied as he winced again-the pain was getting worse.

"Hold on brother, I know who to get." Latias told him.

"Be quick sister, I have little time left." Latios warned as his sister flew off to find someone.

* * *

Ash was surprised to see Latias coming towards him, and even more surprised when she brushed Pikachu off of him and pushed Aerodactyl away.

"What's going on?" Ash questioned as Latias put her claws on his back, and teleported away, leaving a stunned Pikachu and Aerodactyl.

* * *

"Hey Latios, why am I here?" he inquired.

"Well Ash, I'm dying, and only someone with a pure aura can save me. Latias brought you to me. If you go through with this you could die. Are you okay with this?" Latios warned.

"Sure Latios. I can't just leave a friend to die." Ash said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Latias squealed and nuzzled Ash.

"Alright Ash, are you ready?" Latios inquired.

"Whenever you are." he replied.

"Okay then, I need you to stand on this side of Latias, and hold her claw. Latias, take my other claw. Make sure you don't let go." Latios ordered.

Ash did this, and thought to himself, 'I hope everything turns out okay.'

"Don't worry Ash, I'll make sure everything turns out fine." Latios reassured.

"Wait, how did- Oh, wait. You're a psychic." Ash recalled. Latios chuckled at this, and started the procedure.

Halfway through, Ash glowed a vibrant blue, and passed out. Latias looked worried, but didn't let go.

When the procedure was done, a ball of light passed through Latias and absorbed into Ash, startling Latias, who let go in surprise.

"It's okay sister, it's all over now. That was just part of my soul. It's just to make sure he survives. Mine will recover through rest, but his wouldn't have." Latios reassured.

"Sister, I have to repair the Soul Dew. Take Ash with you to the garden, please." Latios requested.

"Be safe, brother." she told him as she flew off towards the museum with Ash in her hands.

As Latias flew back down to Aerodactyl and Pikachu, she told them to follow along.

Quickly flying over the city, Latias saw the roof over the garden, and passed through it, which Aerodactyl was hesitant to pass through. With enough coaxing from Pikachu, who was on her back, she passed through it.

Latias arrived at the garden with Ash and laid him down on the grass.

Latios then entered the garden with a repaired Soul Dew in his hands, and placed it on the pedestal.

"Sister, we should probably go to a different place. People must know we live here now." Latios suggested to Latias before he fell unconcious.

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Bianca and Lorenzo all entered the garden, and saw Latias tending to an unconcious Latios and Ash.

"We should probably take them to our house, Grandpa. They're not safe here." Bianca suggested.

"How are we going to move Latios? He's at least a few hundred pounds." Brock asked.

"This could be a long night." Lorenzo sighed as they all went about transporting Ash and Latios.

* * *

**(A/N) This took me way too long to get out, but I was without internet all of last week, so that's part of why it took so long. Hopefully this chapter is a lot better than before the revision. Let me know what you think! **

**Until next time,**

**Ice**


	5. Time to Learn!

After a long night of moving Ash and Latios back to safety, everyone save said dragon and trainer were awake.

During the night, Lorenzo had gone to the Pokémon Center and left a message for Brock and Misty, telling them that Ash was at his house, and they were welcome to come visit.

Latias woke up in the morning a little later than she usually did, but that could be accredited to her stopping the city from being destroyed.

Although it was a tight fit, Latias could normally fit through a doorway. Latios, however, was a different story.

'How did they get him in here?' she marveled to herself, staring at her brother. She dismissed the thought before changing into her human form, and proceeding downstairs.

"Hey Latias!" Bianca greeted from the living room couch, "Sleep well?"

Bianca got a nod and friendly wave in response.

"Are Ash or Latios awake?" Bianca inquired.

Latias shook her head no as she walked to the kitchen, and grabbed some berries for her breakfast.

Bianca was sitting in the living room, waiting for either Ash or Latios to awaken, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she yelled as she got up from her seat to answer the door.

"Good morning Bianca!" Misty greeted.

"Morning Misty, you too Brock!" Bianca returned the greeting.

"Morning." Brock grumbled. He was exhausted from moving two eons last night with Lorenzo as his only help. Misty just had to wake him up at six in the morning.

"Is Ash awake?" Misty asked.

"No, not yet. He seems to be doing fine otherwise, though." Bianca replied.

"That's good to hear." Misty told Bianca as Brock proceeded to make up for his lack of sleep on the living room floor.

"Morning all." Lorenzo greeted as he walked down the steps.

His greeting was returned by everyone as he sat down in the living room, and engaged in conversation with the others, waiting for Latios and Ash to wake up.

While the conversation was taking place, the aforementioned dragon was waking up.

Latios opened his eyes, half awake, and was surprised to find himself sleeping in Lorenzo's house.

He looked at the door, and looked down at himself, and thought, 'How did they get me in here?'

Latios pondered this for a moment, and shook the thought off, focusing on what had happened last night.

He looked outside so as to tell the time, and was not surprised that it was just after midday. It was also not surprising to Latios that Ash was still asleep. After Latios scanned Ash with his psychic powers, he found Ash to be perfectly healthy and that he would be fully recovered in a couple hours, at most, and would awaken shortly after.

Latios went downstairs, to let everyone know that he was awake, to their delight.

Everyone continued conversing downstairs while waiting for Ash to wake up.

The hours before Ash woke up went by fairly quickly, with everyone, save for Latios and Latias, talking, and before anyone had realized, he had awoken.

Ash woke up feeling different, but he couldn't place his finger on what it was.

He closed his eyes to think about what had happened last night, and remembered that Latios had given him some of his soul and aura.

Eyes still closed, Ash was lost in his thoughts when he saw a blue spot where Pikachu was lying down next to him.

He wasn't necessarily surprised by this, as he had recently been seeing flashes of blue where his friends or Pokémon were, only to have them flicker and disappear a few seconds after he saw them.

He was surprised, however, when that blue did not go away, and it felt like he was able to sense the presence of Pikachu. He opened and closed his eyes only to see that same blue spot and feel that same presence when he focused on that.

'Huh. I wonder why I can see that blue spot where Pikachu is?' Ash pondered, 'Oh well. I guess I'll ask Latios or Latias about it when I see them.'

Ash decided to continue resting upstairs, as he was still tired from the previous night's events.

Downstairs, Latios figured that it was about the time that Ash should've woken up, and went upstairs to check on Ash.

As he got to the doorway to Ash's room, he mentally cursed doors for being so small as he opened it with his psychic powers, awakening Pikachu with the noise.

"Pikachu." Pikachu mumbled a greeting, receiving a nod from Latios in response.

Ash was awake, and was just laying down, thinking. He wasn't paying attention to Latios, as he was lost in thought.

"Ash? Hello? Anybody home?" Pikachu asked while jumping in front of Ash, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hey buddy. I was just thinking." Ash replied.

"About?" Pikachu questioned.

"Well, when I woke up this morning, I closed my eyes to think about what happened last night, and there was a blue spot where you were, and it's almost like I was able to sense you." Ash told Pikachu.

"I can't think of why that would happen, but I would ask Latios." Pikachu advised.

"Wait, Pikachu. Did you just say you don't know why that might've happened and to ask Latios about it?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, why?" Pikachu responded slowly.

"I think I just understood that. Not like the basics, but it's like I got every word." Ash explained with a smile.

"Really? Can you understand me Ash?" Latios asked him.

"Yeah I can!" Ash exclaimed.

"Huh. I suppose that's from the part of my soul I gave you so you would survive." Latios reasoned.

"You gave me part of your soul? How does that work?" asked Ash, confused.

"Well, during the aura transfer, your body must have given nearly your whole soul along with your aura. You wouldn't have pulled through if it weren't for me giving you some of my soul." explained Latios.

"Thank you," Ash began, "But what's the difference between your soul and mine?"

"It was my pleasure Ash. Think of it as returning the favor for saving my sister, Latios paused, "Because I'm a legendary Pokémon, my soul is much stronger than yours, and will repair itself, so don't worry about having only half of a soul. Both of our souls will be complete by next week at the latest."

"How can you tell?" asked Ash.

"Psychic legendary Pokémon, remember? Latios deadpanned.

"Right. Forgot about that." Ash said sheepishly as Latios and Pikachu chuckled.

"So what is going on, then?" Ash asked.

"Well, I don't really know that much about aura, but let me start here: Aura is the life energy inside all living things, people, Pokémon and nature alike. I know that many legendary Pokémon have the ability to manipulate that energy, but we don't, as we are not experienced enough, and only a handful of humans have that ability. That's about all I know, so you being able to control aura is quite rare, even though what happened last night could've advanced your ability." explained Latios.

"That's awesome! I'll have to tell this to everyone back in Pallet!" exclaimed Ash.

"Ash, you should be careful about who you tell this to. Everyone here is trustworthy, but the same can't be said for many others." Latios warned.

This hadn't really occurred to Ash. He was still elated that he could use aura, and talk to Pokémon.

"Alright, I understand. I don't want to make myself a target." admitted Ash.

"So do you want to go downstairs to show everyone that you're okay?" asked Latios..

"Sure, but I don't think I'm gonna tell anyone about this whole aura thing until I know more. You and Pikachu are the only ones I've told." Ash told Latios.

"That's fine by me. Maybe you can check out the library today? I'm kind of curious about it now." Latios admitted.

"Sounds fun. Although, I don't know where it is. Could you help me find it later?" asked Ash.

"Sure." Latios replied.

With that, Ash got up and went downstairs with Pikachu and Latios.

"Ash!" five voices exclaimed at the same time, clearly relieved to see Ash healthy.

"Hey guys!" Ash replied, getting hugs from everyone in the room.

Everyone kept asking him what had happened last night, and Ash responded, saying that he had saved Latios' life, to which Latios returned the favor. Saying that everyone was in awe after the full story was told would be an understatement.

When asked if having the soul of a Latios would affect his life as a human, Ash didn't know. So naturally, he asked Latios.

"I'm not really sure Ash. I'll see if I can find anything about it. Maybe some of the other legendaries will know." Latios responded, shaking his head no.

"You don't know?" Ash tried to make it look like he was guessing at what Latios had said, even though he could understand every word he said.

"Ash, if Latios doesn't know, maybe you could check the library or the museum for any insight." Bianca suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Ash agreed, "Let's go now!" yelled Ash as he ran out of the front door.

"Ash! You don't even know where the library is!" Brock yelled at Ash.

"Ash! What about me!?" Pikachu yelled.

Hearing Pikachu's voice, Ash turned around and came back for Pikachu, asked for directions, and took off.

'I wonder if he's always like this?' Latias wondered in amusement as Ash tore off towards the library.

Ash was sprinting so fast that he arrived at the library in less than 5 minutes.

"Wow Ash, you actually didn't get lost." Pikachu said sincerely.

"Thanks buddy." Ash mumbled as he entered the library.

Ash had no need to use a library back home, as Professor Oak had let him use his books when he was curious about something, so he had no idea how to find a book, especially in a huge library like this one.

Professor Oak's words echoed, 'Use the Dewey Decimal System...'

Ash jumped, 'Where did that come from?' he wondered.

"Hey Pikachu, can you help me look for anything about aura?" Ash whispered.

Receiving a nod in response, the two went off to find any books about aura, finding success almost immediately.

"Pikachu, c'mere." Ash called to Pikachu.

"Yeah Ash." responded Pikachu, hopping onto Ash's shoulder.

"Look at this. This looks like it would have something." Ash noted, holding a book called _Aura, a Basic Overview_.

"It might," Pikachu affirmed, "I also found a book on Latios and Latias, if you want to read that." he finished, showing Ash the book.

"Cool. Let's get going, then." Ash said as he took the two books to check them out.

* * *

**(A/N) Wow. This chapter took way longer than I would've like it to, but, regardless, it still feels great to be back with another chapter, regardless. Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks! :D**

**Until next time,**

**-Ice**


	6. Search Party

On the way back from the library, Ash had put the book about Aura in his bag, not wanting anyone to know about his Aura yet. He wanted to take it up with Latios first.

As he was walking, Ash was thinking about what his next journey would be. 'The Kanto League doesn't start for nine months, and Johto's is in eleven months. There haven't been any challengers for the Orange League either,' he pondered, 'Maybe Professor Oak will have something for me to do. I'll call him tonight.' Ash thought as he approached the door, knocking on it.

As he entered the house, Ash spotted Latios, and motioned for him to come over. Ash told everyone they were going upstairs to read some books about Pokémon, which was not a lie, just not the whole truth.

Getting the books out, Ash first went for the one about the eon dragons.

"Ash, why did you get that? We can answer any questions you have about us." Latios asked.

"Well, now that you mention it," Ash began, "I don't know." he said sheepishly as Latios and Pikachu chuckled.

"Anyway, let's take a look." Ash declared, opening the book.

* * *

"Hey Latios, is all of this true?" Ash asked, pointing to the Pokédex entry.

Latios took a closer look at the book, 'Latios has the ability to make its foe see an image of what it has seen or imagines in its head. This Pokémon is intelligent and understands human speech. Latios will only open its heart to a Trainer with a compassionate spirit. This Pokémon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance.

Even in hiding, it can detect the locations of others and sense their emotions since it has telepathy.' read the entry.

"Yes, why?" inquired Latios.

"This means that both you and Latias can learn telepathy!" Ash exclaimed.

Latios thought about it briefly, and smiled, "That sounds awesome Ash, but how?"

"Uh... I have to go make a call." Ash said sheepishly as Latios facefaulted.

Luckily, there was a videophone in Ash's room, which Ash used to call Professor Oak.

"Professor Oak?"

"Ash! What can I do for you?" Professor Oak greeted.

"I was just wondering how I could teach a Pokémon how to use telepathy." Ash told him.

"Well, the process is quite simple. It just requires a lot of effort," Oak paused to think, "Now that I think about it, what Pokémon were you planning to teach telepathy? Your Noctowl is the only one with Psychic abilities, and they're not as powerful as a pure Psychic type."

Ash wasn't expected to be asked this question, so he was thankful Professor Oak answered his own question, "Yeah, I was planning to teach Noctowl." Ash responded.

"Well, the learning process may be frustrating, but I am confident you can do it," Oak ensured, "What you want to do is have Noctowl focus on one word or thought, and have him try to push that into your mind. It may take some time for Noctowl to fully develop telepathy, but this will cover the basic skill. If you're having any trouble, feel free to call me."

"Got it Professor. Thanks," Ash paused to think, "Do you know how long it would take to teach it to a pure Psychic Pokémon? I know I don't have one, but just in case I do get one, it'd be cool to know." Ash questioned.

"Depends how powerful. Although, knowing your Pokémon and your bond with them, I'd say no more than a couple days." Professor Oak responded with a smile.

"Alright Professor. Thanks a lot! I think I'll be home in 3 days." Ash told the Professor.

"I look forward to it," he replied, "Congratulations again on your Silver League performance. I'll see you soon Ash."

"Thanks Professor! See ya!" Ash gave a farewell, ending the call.

Ash turned to Latios, "Got that Latios?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Latios affirmed, "Can we start now?" he asked eagerly.

"Yup! I'm ready." Ash replied, releasing Noctowl, explaining why a legendary Pokémon was in the room, calming him down, and telling him what they were doing.

And with that, Ash, Latios and Noctowl spent the next few hours practicing telepathy, stopping for a break when it was time for dinner.

"Okay guys, great job. We'll do this again tomorrow." Ash declared, earning a cry of approval from both Latios and Noctowl.

"Pikachu, c'mon. It's time for dinner." Ash called, drawing Pikachu's attention away from Ash's Pokédex, which Pikachu was playing with.

'I could feel something in the back of my mind when Latios tried telepathy, but nothing when Noctowl did,' Ash thought as the four came down the stairs, Noctowl and Pikachu on Ash's shoulders, 'Oh well. I'm confident Noctowl can learn telepathy. He worked really hard today.' Ash's thoughts were interrupted when Bianca told them dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes.

Hearing this, Ash and Brock went outside to go feed his team their dinner. When they finished, dinner was ready. They recalled all their Pokémon and went inside for dinner.

The conversation over dinner was everyone finding out new things about each other. Well, that changed when Ash remembered something as they finished eating.

"Lorenzo," Ash began, "Do you know what happened to Aerodactyl?"

"Hmm," Lorenzo hummed in thought, "The last time I saw her was when she helped out with moving you and Latios to our house. Actually, that was the same Aerodactyl skeleton that belonged to our museum, Ash."

"Really? Does that mean she has to stay here?" Ash asked.

"Well, normally, I would go about getting her to stay here," Lorenzo told Ash, "But, I think I can make an exception for you, Ash. Considering you helped save her, and the fact we simply cannot keep her here. We just don't have the space, time or money to do that."

"So that means she can come with me if she wants?" asked Ash excitedly.

Lorenzo chuckled, seeing Ash's excitement, "Sure, if you can find her." he replied.

"Thanks Lorenzo," Ash exclaimed, "Does anyone want to help me look for Aerodactyl?"

Ash received an affirmative from Brock, Latios, Latias, and Pikachu, of course.

The five went out of the door to search for Aerodactyl, with Latios turning invisible and Latias in her human form.

"Of course they left us with all the dishes." Misty joked, earning laughter from Bianca and a chuckle from Lorenzo.

* * *

"Alright Ash. We should probably stay together, because Aerodactyl might be hostile towards us. Remember, she doesn't know where she is, and I'm sure things have changed since she was last alive." Brock reasoned.

"That's true," Ash replied. "Where do you want to start searching?"

"Maybe the forest over there?" Brock suggested as he pointed to a large forest.

"That's a big forest to search." remarked Ash.

"Well, since Latios and Latias can handle themselves, they can go search above the forest. Sound like a plan?" Brock asked.

"That's a good idea, Brock. Everyone on board?" Ash inquired, earning nods from all, "Then let's go!" he declared as they set off to find Aerodactyl.

The first hour of the search yielded nothing, and everyone got back together, ready to leave the forest, until they heard a tree fall.

They rushed over to find Aerodactyl in front if a broken tree, unconcious and battered, with a couple of Skarmory continuing to hurt her, aiming to kill.

Even though Ash knew how dangerous this situation could get, he couldn't just let them kill Aerodactyl.

"Hey birdbrain!" Ash yelled at the two Skarmory, 'That sounded much better in my head.' Ash thought as the two Skarmory turned to face him, murderous looks in their eyes.

"Care to help out, Brock?" Ash asked as he unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt.

"Uh, sure Ash." Brock replied, following suit.

"Cyndaquil! Help me out!" Ash called, throwing the ball.

"Let's go, Golbat!" Brock yelled, calling out his Golbat, "Supersonic!" he ordered.

The Supersonic hit both Skarmory, leaving them confused. Ash saw this along with their already weakened state and decided to take advantage of it, "Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!" Ash called.

"Golbat, get the other one with a Wing Attack!" Brock yelled.

Both attacks hit their mark, causing both Skarmory to faint instantly.

"Alright!" Brock and Ash exclaimed, hi-fiving each other. Both gave words of praise as they recalled their Pokémon.

"We can't just leave these Skarmory here." Brock noted, walking up to them.

"You're right. Should we catch them?" Ash asked.

"Your call. I think I'm going to catch one, though." Brock said, taking out a Pokéball and capturing the Skarmory he had defeated.

"Well it's not going to be a repeat of what happened with those Zubat at Mount Moon." Ash told Brock, and captured the remaining Skarmory.

Brock chuckled at this, but remembered the task at hand, "Ash, open your bag. Do you have any medicine for Aerodactyl?" Brock asked as he rushed over to Aerodactyl.

Ash immediately started looking through his bag, "I've got Full Restores, Brock. How many do you want?"

"However many you have. Do you have any gauze?" Brock asked, looking through his bag for more supplies.

"Yeah, I've got it." Ash replied, handing Brock the Full Restores.

Pikachu, Latios and Latias chose to stay back. Medicine was not their field of expertise.

"Good. Let's get to work. You know what to do, Ash." Brock said.

Moving closer to Aerodactyl, the two got a better look at her.

Her breathing was very labored. She was in an awkward position, so much that it was hard to get to her frontal wounds.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Brock, "If we can't move her, she'll die! How are we going to do that?"

Ash knew, "Latios! Quick! Can you turn her over for us?" Ash asked desperately.

Latios got to work on turning Aerodactyl over. This was when the extent of the damage was revealed.

Aerodactyl had many wounds on her abdomen, although thankfully the bleeding there had stopped.

Her right wing was crumpled and bloodied, and her left wing was cut badly.

That wasn't the worst part. There were claw wounds on her neck, just to the left of the jugglar vein, bleeding profusely.

Brock's eyes widened as he saw this, "Ash! Get the other wounds, and get me a Hyper Potion and my med kit! Now!" he roared.

Ash quickly fetched the items and worked on the other wounds, treating them with the Full Restores and Potions, and bandaging them.

Meanwhile, Brock was in a bind. There was a wound running from Aerodactyl's midsection to neck, and she was losing blood fast. He needed to do something.

Brock noticed that an artery was sliced open, producing most of the blood. He got to work suturing the tear in the artery, effectively stopping almost all bleeding. He then used a Full Restore on the wound, helping to close it and speed up the healing process.

"Ash?" Brock called, "Everything good on your end?"

"Yeah. She's not bleeding on either wing anymore. Will she be alright?" Ash asked, clearly shaken.

"She's stable. That's all I know for sure," Brock replied, "Thanks Ash. I couldn't have done it without you." Brock praised, standing up.

"My pleasure, Brock. Thanks for saving her." Ash said, worry still present in his voice.

"Any time, Ash," Brock responded, taking a look at Ash. He saw the fear in Ash's eyes, "Ash, are you going to be alright?"

"I don't know, Brock. I don't know." Ash responded.

"Ash, anything that happens now is out of our hands. We've done everything we can. All we can do now is pray."

"Yeah, you're right Brock. I just can't help but worry." Ash responded.

"I know, Ash. I know."

"Well, it looks like we're staying out here tonight. I'll set up the sleeping bags and a fire." Brock told Ash.

"I don't know if I'll be sleeping tonight, Brock."

"I don't know if I will either." Brock admitted.

Pikachu decided it was best to leave Ash alone, so he decided to help Brock get a fire started.

Latios and Latias were unsure what to do, so they just hung in the background. Watching Aerodactyl, praying she would heal.

* * *

**(A/N) Whoa! I'm alive! But in all seriousness, I really do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I should have the next one up on Halloween (October 31) or before, so stay tuned! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter in a review! Until next time, **

**-Ice**


	7. Shattered Wings, Whole Spirit

Several hours had passed since midnight. Ash sat next to Aerodactyl, restlessly waiting for her to show some signs of life other than labored breathing.

Ash looked up, seeing the sky was starting to become light. He looked behind him and saw everyone asleep, except Brock.

Noticing Ash, Brock decided to speak, "Ash. You sleep at all?"

"No. I couldn't. Not with this on my mind," he replied, looking back at Brock.

"I couldn't sleep much. I hope she'll pull through." Brock replied, receiving a nod from Ash.

Brock got up and moved closer to Ash, and sat near him, getting a better look at how Aerodactyl was.

She wasn't faring much better than yesterday evening. Her right wing was essentially shattered, and her left was probably broken. The cuts were all closed, and she hadn't been bleeding from any of them, and her breathing seemed to slowly be getting better, although still labored.

Ash heard rustling behind him, up in a tree, and turned around to find Latias flying down.

"Hey Latias. Sleep well?" Ash asked halfheartedly.

Latias shook her head and pointed to Aerodactyl and Ash.

"Me? Why were you worried about me? Because I couldn't sleep?" Ash suggested.

Latias nodded and cooed softly in response.

"Thanks Latias. It means a lot to me." Ash said, smiling softly.

Suddenly, Ash heard a whimper behind him, and turned around to find Aerodactyl conscious.

"Aerodactyl!" Ash said as he and Brock went to her side.

Aerodactyl tried to get up, letting out a weak cry of pain when she realized she couldn't move.

"Aerodactyl, you need to stay still. You're not in good shape." Brock told her. She let out a cry of defiance, and tried to get up again. She let out another whimper when she realized she was too broken and battered to do so.

"Aerodactyl, what happened between you and those Skarmory?" Brock asked.

"Pikachu," Ash called, rousing him out of his sleep, "Can you translate for us?"

"Sure." he replied, coming over to Ash.

Aerodactyl explained what happened to Pikachu, who relayed the story to Ash, even though he understood Aerodactyl in the first place. He just didn't want to let anyone know he could understand Pokémon. He wanted it to be a surprise for his team and his friends.

"Thanks Pikachu," Ash told Pikachu, "Well, I think Aerodactyl was looking for food, but she didn't know where to find it, so she came to the forest. She ended up eating some berries from around here because she couldn't find anything else. She was eating when a couple Skarmory came up to her and said this was their territory. She said she would leave, but thay attacked her anyway. The last thing she remembers was being thrown into a tree by an attack." Ash explained.

"Well that explains how she got here and what happened to her, but how are we going to get her better?" Brock inquired.

"Is it safe to capture her in her condition?" Ash asked Brock.

"Yeah. You can." he replied.

Ash turned to Aerodactyl, rubbing her head, "Aerodactyl," he began, "Do you want to come along with me on my journey? You'll get to battle when we get better. I'd love to have you come along with us." Ash said, smiling.

Aerodactyl appeared to be in thought, and turned to look into Ash's eyes. Ash held the eye contact.

'This human, Ash. He saved my life twice, and seems to show love for his friends and Pokémon. He has a good sense of justice, as well. I want to go with him, even though I don't know what to expect. He has earned my respect, trust and loyalty, but what have I done for him? All I've done is make him go out of his way to help me. I don't feel worthy of him.' Aerodactyl thought.

She voiced this concern to Pikachu, who told it to Ash, who smiled, "Don't feel like that. You're a strong Pokémon, and you saved my life once, too. Remember when I fell off Latias?" Ash inquired, receiving a nod from Aerodactyl, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. I'd be honored to have you as a member of our team. I promise I'll show you as much love and respect as any other Pokémon, and I will never do anything to hurt you. Deal?"

Aerodactyl was more than ready to accept this offer, but there was a problem. Aerodactyl asked Pikachu, who asked Ash to explain.

"Well, this is called a Poké Ball," said Ash, unclipping an empty ball from the sixth spot of his belt. He was thankful he had sent Charizard and Squirtle back to the Charicific Valley and Vermillion City, respectively, "And I have to put you in this for you to go with me. Otherwise we can't battle together."

Aerodactyl was frightened of having to go into the ball, and she shied away from it.

"You're scared of going inside?" Ash guessed. Aerodactyl nodded in response, "Hey Aerodactyl. Do you remember the promise I made?" Aerodactyl nodded, "I won't do anything to hurt you. This won't hurt you. It might be a little uncomfortable or make you feel weird, but otherwise we can't have someone help your injuries. Trust me?" Ash said, pulling out a special ball from his bag. It was a Cherish Ball.

"Hey Ash, where'd you get that?" Brock questioned.

"I got these at the Silver Conference. They were on sale so I bought a few." Ash responded.

Ash held the ball out towards Aerodactyl, "Ready girl?" Aerodactyl tapped the ball and was sucked into it. It dinged without shaking, and Ash picked it up, and stared at the ball. Ash uttered one word, "Welcome." and smiled, clipping the ball to his belt.

Brock put his hand on Ash's shoulder, "Good job, Ash." Brock said, happy for Ash, 'The one thing that has always set Ash aside from other great trainers is his selflessness. He would've done the same for any Pokémon, no questions asked.' Brock thought.

'I wish I could go with Ash, but I don't want to leave Latios here alone,' Latias thought, 'Maybe I'll talk to Latios about it later.'

"Okay guys, we need to get going." Ash said, putting on his backpack.

"Alright Ash, just give me a minute to put my sleeping bag away." Brock requested.

"Okay," Ash replied, "Hey Latias, can you go wake up Latios?" he requested, to which Latias nodded and proceeded to do.

By the time everyone was up, Brock had put his sleeping bag away and was ready to go. Everyone was led out of the forest by Latias in her human form.

It was still early morning when they arrived at the Pokémon Center. Ash had walked inside with an invisible Latias and Latios in tow. Brock had gone back to Lorenzo's house to explain to everyone what had happened last night.

"Good morning!" greeted Nurse Joy, "What can I do for you, Ash?"

"Can you help my Aerodactyl? She was hurt pretty bad by two Skarmory last night. She's stable, but hurt real bad." Ash requested.

"Chansey, can you bring me a large stretcher?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Chansey!" replied Chansey, and went to get the stretcher.

Nurse Joy turned to Ash, "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

"She has lots of cuts, and I'm pretty sure her left wing is broken. Her right is shattered. She had a wound on her neck that cut an artery, but my friend sutured that. She lost blood, too. I'm not sure about anything past that, though. " Ash said with a frown.

"Well it sounds like nothing life-threatening, fortunately," Nurse Joy reasoned, which took a huge weight off Ash's shoulders, "But it's my job to make sure. Let's release her onto the stretcher here." Nurse Joy said, gesturing towards the stretcher Chansey had brought.

"I don't think she'll let you touch her, though. She doesn't really trust anyone." Ash advised.

"Do you think she would let me if you were there?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We'll see." Ash responded as he unclipped Aerodactyl's ball from his belt, and released her onto the stretcher.

Aerodactyl gave a weak cry upon release, and looked to Ash, as if asking where she was.

"Hey Aerodactyl, we're at the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy here is going to help you get better," Aerodactyl nodded, showing she understood what was going on, "I don't think you'd let Nurse Joy do anything to you, would you?" Ash guessed.

Aerodactyl said a few words to Pikachu, who relayed them to Ash, who seemed surprised, "She says she doesn't trust any humans but me, but she'll let you help her, as long as you don't cut her open." Ash told Nurse Joy.

"Well, that could be an issue. I need to check the artery in her neck and give her an IV, so there's that." Nurse Joy explained.

Aerodactyl said something else, which Pikachu relayed, "Are you sure?" Ash asked Aerodactyl, who nodded her head, "Okay. She says if I can be in the room, she's up for it."

"Alright, I guess I'll lead you down to a room, then." Nurse Joy gestured down the hallway.

Latios was able to fit through this door just fine, as it was wide enough for many large Pokémon to enter.

'Why can't everyone have doors like this?' Latios marveled.

Nurse Joy entered the room with an IV bag and a syringe filled with painkiller, to be given through IV.

Nurse Joy ran through what was going on, "So I'm going to have to stick a needle in you to do this, but it will help you in the long run. I'm going to hydrate you and give you some painkiller. Is that okay?" explained Nurse Joy, which Aerodactyl hesitantly nodded to.

Aerodactyl stayed relatively calm when Nurse Joy put the needle in her, and calmed down a little when the painkillers started to kick in.

Meanwhile, Ash had pulled the book about Aura out of his bag, and started reading it. He wanted something to take his mind off Aerodactyl, who had drifted off into sleep.

Ash skimmed through the book to find any history, '_In the distant past, there were humans that could sense and control a power known as Aura. These humans, known as Aura Guardians, traveled around the world doing good deeds and passing on their skills to those who also possessed this ability. For unknown reasons, many, if not all Aura Guardians disappeared from the Earth centuries ago.'_ the book read.

Latios took notice of what Ash was reading, and hovered above him, reading along with him.

Ash continued reading for another half hour, and gathered this about Aura: it gives you the ability to read minds and actions of another being, the ability to sense other Auras and view surroundings through Aura. It also allows users to see Aura through natural objects, such as a tree or rocks, and allows for manifestation of one's Aura; such as to create barriers or attacks. It can also be used to transfer Aura to others but that method can be fatal to the user, and can activate time flowers.

'Aura can do all that?' Ash thought incredulously as he set the book aside, 'I wonder how I'm gonna find a Guardian to teach me.'

Latios picked up on these thoughts, 'Ash has a point. I don't know if Aura Guardians are still in existence. Maybe some of the other Legendary Pokémon will know.' he thought, making a mental note to ask them later.

Unbeknownst to Ash or Latios, Latias had been reading along with them, promising herself to ask about this later.

Nurse Joy entered the room, prepped for surgery, "Ash, I need to double check Aerodactyl's neck. I know Aerodactyl is fine with me doing that, but I need to make sure you are, just because she's your Pokémon, legally."

"Sure Nurse Joy. Just take care of her, please." Ash replied, obviously concerned about Aerodactyl's condition.

"I will." she responded.

Nurse Joy woke up Aerodactyl and explained everything she was going to do, including that Ash had to be outside the room, but he would be watching her through the glass.

Aerodactyl was somewhat hesitant at first, but complied once Ash reassured her.

Ash stepped out of the room, and watched as Nurse Joy gave Aerodactyl a dose of anesthesia and waited for it to take effect.

Ash sat outside of the room praying, hoping Aerodactyl would recover.

After a hour, the operation light over the room shut off, and Nurse Joy wheeled Aerodactyl out on a stretcher.

Aerodactyl had her wings set in casts and multiple bandages on her body, and seemed to breathing easier.

"Nurse Joy, is she going to be alright?" Ash asked hopefully.

"She'll be just fine, Ash. She should make a full and speedy recovery." Nurse Joy responded happily.

Ash mentally thanked whoever had answered his prayers, "Thank you, Nurse Joy," Ash replied, "How long until she will be healthy?"

Nurse Joy thought for a a moment,"At least two months for the shattered wing to heal, but everything should be fine in three months."

"When can she leave?" inquired Ash.

"It depends. If you don't have any place arranged for her to stay, she has to stay here. If you do, she can leave tomorrow.

"Well, I can call Professor Oak and ask if Aerodactyl can stay at his lab." Ash suggested.

"Good idea. Let me speak to him after you make an arrangement." Nurse Joy requested as she went down the hall to put Aerodactyl in another room.

Ash called Professor Oak, and made arrangements for Aerodactyl to stay at his lab for a few months.

After he finished, he gave the phone to Nurse Joy, who explained the finer details of the situation, such as what exactly was wrong with Aerodactyl and how to care for her.

After Nurse Joy ended the call, she showed Ash what room Aerodactyl was in.

"Nurse Joy, before you leave, I have a couple Pokémon that need to be healed," Ash said as he unclipped Skarmory and Cyndaquil's Poké Balls from his belt, "This is one of the Skarmory that attacked Aerodactyl." he added, giving them to Nurse Joy.

The rest of Ash's day was spent in Aerodactyl's room, with breaks only to eat and use the bathroom.

Ash had released Noctowl for a while so he could practice telepathy with Latios, and was able to feel another presence in his mind, along with Latios' presence getting stronger. He was excited that Latios and Noctowl were making progress, as that gave him something else than Aerodactyl to focus on.

Brock, along with Lorenzo, Misty and Bianca had stopped in for a few hours during the day, although only Brock had come back during the evening to give Ash and Aerodactyl some company.

Around midnight, Ash was the only one still up. Brock had gone up to his room, Aerodactyl was asleep, and Latios and Latias had gone outside to find a place to rest.

'I should go to sleep now," reasoned Ash, "Aerodactyl will be fine. I need to rest for tomorrow, when we go back to Pallet." Ash thought, drifting off to sleep with the bittersweet thought of going home, but leaving Alto Mare.

**(A/N) Happy Halloween everyone! Sorry that this is kind of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Hopefully I will have a new chapter out soon, as well. I'd appreciate it if you guys left a review with your thoughts on the chapter or story. Until next time,**

**-Ice**


	8. Departure

Ash had a dreamless sleep the night before he had to leave Alto Mare, waking up before Aerodactyl, about 7 in the morning, and went to fetch breakfast after picking up Cyndaquil and Skarmory from Nurse Joy.

Making his way towards the cafeteria, Ash and Brock come down the stairs.

"Hey Brock," greeted Ash, "Going to eat?"

"Morning, Ash," responded Brock, "I was going to the cafeteria. I take it you are, too?"

"Yeah, I'm really hungry. I didn't eat much yesterday." Ash replied, to which Brock nodded.

Getting their breakfast, Ash and Brock discussed where they were planning to head next in their journeys.

"I'm still not sure," saidAsh, regarding his future travels, "I'll ask Professor Oak if he knows where I can go."

Brock nodded, "I'd love to tag along, but I have to make sure everything is okay back in Pewter."

"Alright. I'm gonna stay back home until Aerodactyl gets better, anyway."

"That's a good idea, Ash. I'll give you a call once I take care of everything." Brock replied.

"Okay," Ash responded, "Are you and Misty all packed?"

"Yeah. I packed your bag for you. I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to pack, well, because of what happened yesterday." Brock said, to which Ash nodded.

"Thanks Brock. The ship comes at 7:00 tonight, right?"

"Yeah," Brock affirmed, "Oh hey, Misty's here." Brock noticed, waving Misty over.

Ash basically asked Misty the same questions he asked Brock, and got the same response. She need to make sure everything was up to standard in Cerulean, but she was more concerned than Brock was. Misty's sisters had previous trouble with the gym, so she had reason for concern.

They carried a mild conversation through their breakfast, and it was about half past 7:00 in the morning when the trio finished.

Ash went over to Aerodactyl's room, recalling her and thanking Nurse Joy for helping her on his way out of the Center.

Ash, Brock and Misty decided to see parts of the city they had missed before, after feeding their Pokémon, and head over to Lorenzo's house before they left to say their goodbyes.

* * *

"Latios?" called Latias.

"Yes?" he responded.

"So," began Latias nervously, "Ash leaves today."

"I know. He told me he didn't know where he would go next, but he'd come back to visit." Latios told her.

"Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you," she began, "I, uh, wanted to go with Ash. I mean, when he leaves today."

Latios sighed, surprising Latias, "Honestly, so do I. I'm just not sure how we can leave the Soul Dew here and have it stay safe."

"Wow," Latias said, surprised by how positively her brother reacted, "Can I do anything about the Soul Dew?"

"Unless you know any way we can leave it here safely." Latios replied.

The two remained in their garden for hours, thinking, when Latias remembered something, "Wait! I remember Ho-Oh saying something about how Father had to leave the Soul Dew alone before we hatched. Do you?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I'm pretty sure we both have to give aura to the Soul Dew, and then the water will let us know when to stop."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Latias asked.

"I don't know. That's what Ho-Oh said when she used to watch over us, and it couldn't hurt to try." replied Latios.

"Well, let's give it a shot!" said Latias, excited.

Although Latias had never learned to transfer her aura, both Latios and her were able to successfully guard the Soul Dew, signified by a pulse of Aura through the city's water.

Looking towards the Soul Dew, Latias spoke, "Dad, I hope I'm making the right decision. Ash is... Is the only human I would want to travel with. Please watch over us and keep Alto Mare safe." she asked as Latios looked on.

"Father," began Latios, "I'm going along with her. Ash is the most admirable person I have met. He is kind, caring, friendly and loving. I just wish you could be here to meet him," Latios said with tears in his eyes, "We love you, Dad."

As neither dragon was expecting to hear a response, they turned around, leaving the only home they had known. Due to this, neither eon saw the pulse three times as they were leaving their garden.

Hoping they had the approval of their father, both Latios and Latias set off to find Ash, who was leaving in an hour and a half.

They did not have to look long, because Latios could track down Ash by just thinking about his location, similar to what he was able to do to find Latias.

'Maybe it's because he has the soul of a Latios now.' pondered Latios, as the two dragons turned invisible and looked on as Ash and his friends exited the library.

"Since we've seen everything we wanted to, why don't we get ice cream one last time?" suggested Misty.

"Great idea Mist! I'll race you there!" Ash exclaimed as he bolted off with Pikachu clinging to his shoulder for dear life.

Brock and Misty sighed, "Can't he just slow down for once?" joked Misty.

The ice cream stand was only about 100 feet away from the library, so it didn't really matter that Ash had run off.

Brock and Misty joined Ash and Pikachu in line for ice cream, and sat down on a bench after they got it, enjoying the ice cream in companionable silence.

When they finished, they agreed to head over to say goodbye to Bianca and Lorenzo, figuring that Latios and Latias would be there as well.

Brock had already checked out of their rooms at the Pokémon Center, so they were all ready to go. They wanted to get to their ship before they had to, so even if the ship left early, they wouldn't miss it. This also gave Ash time to tell everyone about him being able to understand Pokémon.

Latios and Latias went ahead of Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu so they could meet them at the house.

The walk to the house was not that far, and only took about ten minutes.

Ash knocked on the door, and Bianca opened it, welcoming them inside. Bianca knew Ash was leaving today, so she was sad to see them leave so soon. Ash and her had become friends, albeit how short of a time he was in the city.

"Hey Bianca. We just came to say goodbye. I'll really miss you all." Ash spoke.

"We will too." Misty added, speaking for Brock as well.

"I'll miss you guys too." Bianca responded.

"Is anyone else here?" Brock asked.

"Yeah. Latios and Latias are out back. Why don't you go see them while I go get Grandpa?" Bianca suggested.

"Okay. I've got something to show you guys outside, anyway." Ash said, heading outside with Brock and Misty, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Hey you two," called Ash, drawing the attention of the two eon dragons, "We came to say goodbye. I've also got a surprise for you, Latias." Latios smiled, knowing they had a bigger surprise in store for him.

Latias looked at him expectantly, curious as to what it was.

"I'll show you when Bianca and Lorenzo come out." Ash responded, causing Latias to pout and Latios snicker.

"Ash?" Lorenzo called, stepping outside with Bianca.

"Hi Lorenzo. We came to say goodbye. I have to leave soon," explained Ash, "But first, I need to show you guys something." Ash said, releasing all of his Pokémon except Skarmory. Ash didn't have time to deal with him right now. All of his Pokémon gave him curious looks, wondering why they were let out, and also why there was an injured Pokémon with them.

"Alright," began Ash, "First off, Aerodactyl is part of our family now. She joined yesterday," Ash explained, "So you guys know that I kinda saved Latios' life, right?" Ash asked, receiving nods from everyone, "Well, I nearly killed myself doing that, and Latios had to save my life. Now, I, uh, well, I can understand Pokémon." Ash explained, rather bluntly.

Ash received several cries of disbelief from his Pokémon and friends.

"Really?" exclaimed Bianca.

"Yeah. I just wanted you to know this before I left." Ash explained.

"If you can understand me, why did you start teaching me telepathy the other day?" Noctowl asked, not buying what Ash had told them.

"Yeah, why?" Totodile asked, siding with Noctowl.

"I believe you, Ash!" exclaimed Cyndaquil.

Ash chuckled, "Thanks Cyndaquil," he began, turning to Noctowl, "I figured it would be useful for talking to other people."

That effectively silenced Noctowl.

"Ash, since you can understand me, thank you. For everything." spoke Aerodactyl softly.

"You're welcome, Aerodactyl." Ash replied.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a little, which was broken with Lorenzo congratulating Ash, and questions from everyone pertaining to really Ash understanding Pokémon.

"Ash?" Latias asked, "Can you really understand me?"

"Yup!"

"Awesome! Now I can finally talk to you!" she responded.

"Ash, the boat leaves in 30 minutes. We should probably get going." Brock advised as he checked his watch.

"Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now." Ash said, recalling his Pokémon as he, Brock, Misty and Pikachu embraced both Bianca and Lorenzo, who bade them farewell.

"Thanks for helping me when I was here." said Ash as he embraced Bianca.

"You're welcome. Just promise you'll come back, okay?" she replied.

"Deal." Ash responded.

Ash turned to go say bye to the two eon dragons, when Latios spoke, "Ash, we have a surprise for you, too."

"What is it?" asked Ash.

"We want to come with you." Latias told him.

"With me? Are you sure?" Ash said in disbelief that two legendary Pokémon wanted to come along with him.

"Ash, both of us want to do this. We wouldn't have asked you if we didn't." Latias responded with a giggle.

"But, why me?" Ash questioned.

"Ash, before I met you, the only people I trusted were Latias, Bianca and Lorenzo. You're my friend, and I would be honored to be your Pokémon. Plus, I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you." explained Latios.

"But what about the Soul Dew? And Bianca and Lorenzo?" asked Ash, concerned.

"We safeguarded the Soul Dew. It cannot be taken off its pedestal by anyone but us and will harm anyone else." Latios assured.

"Do you want me to tell Bianca and Lorenzo about this?"

"Seeing as we can't, sure." said Latios.

Ash turned to Bianca and Lorenzo, telling them what was going on, and telling them about the Soul Dew.

"Why do you want to leave?" Bianca questioned, nearly in tears. Although Bianca had other friends, Latias was her best friend, and Latios was a close second.

Latias said something to Ash, and flew over to comfort Bianca, who hugged her.

"Latias says it's less that she wants to leave you, but more that she wants to travel with me. Same for Latios." translated Ash.

"Will you come back every once in a while?" Bianca asked, to which Latias cooed and nodded.

"Have fun," said Lorenzo, sad to see them go, but knowing it was not his decision, "I'll miss you."

"Latios, Latias," called Ash, "I can catch you now, but I don't really want to send you to Professor Oak's lab; I already have six Pokémon with me. That's all I'm allowed to carry. Could we make the capture official when we get back home?" asked Ash.

"Sounds good," said Latios, "We should probably go to the boat now. We'll just turn invisible and fly on."

"Okay. Let's get going." Ash said as he started to leave the house with Brock and Misty.

"Wait, Ash!" called Bianca, "I have something for you, before you go." she said, handing Ash a drawing.

It was a beautiful drawing of Pikachu and Latias playing together in the Secret Garden, with Ash and Latios watching them.

Taking in the beauty of it, Ash spoke, "Bianca, this is awesome! Thank you."

"It's the least I could do for a friend." she replied.

"Thank you. I'll put this right next to my trophies when I get home. It's just as special as they are to me." Ash told her.

Bianca felt honored by this, saying, "Ash, that means a lot to me," she began, "And even though I want you guys to stay, you have a boat to catch. So go ahead. Just make sure to call us and visit once in a while."

"Of course," Ash spoke, "Maybe you could come over to Pallet some time." he suggested.

"Sure! I'd love to." replied Bianca.

"Ash, I hate to interrupt, but we've gotta go." Brock said.

And with that, they all bade each other farewell again, and walked down to the docks to catch their boat.

The walk was not too far, so they got on their boat with time to spare, and settled in their cabins. Misty had a cabin to herself, and Ash was sharing one with Brock.

Latios had flown on the boat, and turned invisible, whereas Latias was using her human form.

After everything was settled, they all went their separate ways on the boat, with Latios and Latias looking around with Ash.

Ash had stopped to look at the map for the ship, noticing a training area, "Hey, we could go down there and try releasing Skarmory." he suggested.

Since no one was around them, Latios decided to speak back, "I'm up for it."

"Alright, it looks like we know where we're going, then." said Ash as they got on the ship's elevator.

Even though they were on the right floor, Ash got lost. Twice.

Eventually, Ash just gave up and let Pikachu lead.

To say the training center was massive would be an understatement, as it was at least the size of two high school gymnasiums. There were weights, a battle field, a decent sized pool, and an area for practicing attacks.

"Wow." Pikachu said in amazement.

"This is huge!" Ash exclaimed.

Ash figured he should probably release Skarmory on the battlefield, seeing as it was the biggest area, and no one was using it.

'This could be really bad, or just bad.' thought Ash as he released his Pokémon, save for Aerodactyl and Skarmory.

"Okay guys," Ash addressed his Pokémon, "I'm gonna let a new member of our team out. He's probably gonna want to attack me, so I need everyone to be on guard." he explained as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder.

Ash received cries of determination from his team, and threw Skarmory's ball, "Come out, Skarmory!"

Skarmory was confused as to where he was, but screeched in annoyance at Ash, "Where am I?"

"There." Ash deadpanned, since he was already annoyed with what Skarmory had done to Aerodactyl.

"Don't play with me! Where am I?" he roared.

"On a boat to Kanto, with me. Welcome to the team, Skarmory." Ash replied.

Skarmory calmed down a little, "Why did you capture me?" he inquired, still annoyed.

"Why not?" Ash replied, "I couldn't just leave you there with how hurt you were."

Skarmory seemed to be satisfied with that answer, "Thank you," he replied rather dryly, "Although I don't want you to be my master, it seems I'm stuck here."

"I don't want to be your master," Ash countered, earning Skarmory's attention, "I want to be your friend and partner. If you want to, you can join our family."

"Family?"

Ash's response was to gesture to the Pokémon in front of him.

Pikachu stepped forward, "We're ready for you if you're ready for us." he offered.

"You've peaked my interest. I'll stay, for now." Skarmory responded.

"Cool. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I think you'll like it here. Just give it a little time, and if you don't like it, I'll let you go." Ash told Skarmory.

"Fair enough," Skarmory said as something dawned on him, "Say, human, how is it you can understand me?"

"Long story. I'll tell you if you stick around." said Ash with a smirk.

"One more thing," Skarmory began, "Where's my cousin? He was the other Skarmory."

"My friend caught him. He's here on the boat. I'll let you talk to him later today," he answered, "For now, I'm gonna recall you all. I'll let you out for some food and for Skarmory to talk to his cousin in about an hour. I'm Ash, by the way."

"Thank you." Skarmory said.

"No problem." Ash said as he recalled Skarmory and his other Pokémon with a word of thanks, and headed out of the training room to go back to the deck.

Ash found Brock and Misty on the deck, and they all headed to get dinner together, and Latias decided to change back into her Pokémon form to fly above the ship with Latios.

They ate at the dinner buffet the ship had, and talked about Ash being able to understand Pokémon during their meal. Most of the questions involved what happened to Ash during the time he saved Latios.

Noticing how many people could hear him, he told Brock and Misty he would explain tonight.

After they finished, Misty went off to the pool to take a swim, and Ash explained what was going on with Skarmory.

"I still have to give him some food, along with the rest of my team," Ash told Brock, "And I also told him he could talk to his cousin, which is the Skarmory you caught."

"Alright. I have to feed my team, too," replied Brock, "I'll just follow you to the training area. We can feed them there."

"Okay." Ash responded.

Noticing Ash was going down to the training area, and considering they were hungry, Latios and Latias followed him down.

Ash let Pikachu lead to begin with. He didn't want Brock to know his navigational skills had not gotten any better.

Ash and Brock fed their teams, except for both Skarmory. They would be given food after the others, so as to not cause a problem.

After they had eaten, both Ash and Brock returned their teams.

"Ready Ash?" inquired Brock, readying Skarmory's Poké Ball.

"Yeah." he responded, releasing Skarmory.

"Hey Skarmory. This is Brock," explained Ash, "He's the one who caught your cousin."

"Can I see him?" Skarmory asked.

"Brock, can you let him out?" Ash inquired.

"Sure thing. Skarmory, come on out!" Brock responded as he threw Skarmory's ball.

"Are you alright, cousin?" asked Ash's Skarmory.

"Yes, but where are we?" Brock's Skarmory inquired.

Ash's Skarmory explained everything. How they were captured by Ash and Brock, and that they were on a boat to Kanto.

"Well, even though I'd rather be back home, I suppose there's nothing I can do about this, is there?" Brock's Skarmory gave in, with a sigh.

"Ask your trainer." responded Ash's Skarmory.

Brock's Skarmory gave his cousin an incredulous look, "You know they can't understand us, right? And everyone back home said trainers were all evil and abusive. I'm really not too keen on this whole 'trained Pokémon' idea."

"Ash doesn't seem bad, at least. I'm staying for the time being. He told me he'd release me back into the wild if I wanted to." Ash's Skarmory told his cousin.

"You believe him? Last time I checked, you hated humans too! Look at how vulnerable they are. We could kill them both right now and be free! They'd never see it coming." Brock's Skarmory retorted.

"Look, I never said I liked Ash. I said he doesn't seem bad. I'm still not thrilled about being his Pokémon." Ash's Skarmory told his cousin.

"I don't know about you, but I'm really close to just killing both of them now. We could both be free! You know that they can't understand us! Let's just do it. I for one would have no problem with killing two humans to be free again." Brock's Skarmory suggested.

"You know what, you can do that if you want. I'm just stopping you from being defeated. I'm also not a killer, either. Remember? You're the one who slashed that Aerodactyl's neck the other day. I just wanted her off our territory-"

"She deserved it! The nerve of that stupid bird!" Brock's Skarmory interrupted.

"Fine, whatever. Go ahead and try to kill them. Have fun getting beaten." Ash's Skarmory relinquished, obviously frustrated with his cousin.

"By what, a Pikachu? Don't make me laugh." Brock's Skarmory said.

"Try me." Pikachu threatened, cheeks sparking.

"Calm down, Pikachu," Ash stepped in, "Skarmory, can you tell your cousin killing us will get him nowhere?"

"He wanted to kill us?" Brock asked, receiving a nod from Ash.

"Brock is a good person," Ash addressed Brock's Skarmory, "I'm sure if you don't like being with him, he'll release you."

"He's right. If that's what will make you happy, that's all that matters." Brock assured.

"Why would I listen to you?" Brock's Skarmory asked.

Seeing as Brock could not understand him, Ash translated.

"You don't have to, but I just want you to try being with me for a few weeks. You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Brock responded.

Brock's Skarmory considered this, and figured he had nothing to lose, "Fine. I'll stay. Just don't expect me to do anything." Brock's Skarmory spat.

"He said he'll stay, but don't expect him to do anything." Ash told Brock.

"Really? Thank you Skarmory. I'm sure you'll like it with me." Brock promised.

"Whatever. Just return me." Brock's Skarmory replied.

"Brock, he wants you to return him." Ash said.

"Uh, okay." Brock said, returning his Skarmory.

Ash turned to face his Skarmory, "Excuse my cousin. He can be difficult at times." Skarmory apologized, clearly frustrated.

"It's okay. Thanks for your help." Ash thanked Skarmory.

"Ash, I'm gonna feed my team now. Does Skarmory want something to eat?" inquired Brock, receiving a nod from Skarmory.

Brock let out his team of Onix, Golbat, and Forretress, and fed them, along with Skarmory.

After they finished, they both returned their Pokémon, and went to go find Misty, who they found just walking back to her cabin.

"Hey guys, how'd everything go?" asked Misty.

"Skarmory doesn't really like me, but at least he is going to stay for now." Brock explained.

"Same with me. I think Brock's Skarmory is only staying because my Skarmory is his cousin." reasoned Ash.

Misty nodded, "At least you're making progress."

"Yeah." Ash responded as he started to walk back to his room.

"Wait, Ash. Before you go, you never told us what happened to you."

"I guess I did say I would tell you, huh?" Ash recalled as he motioned for Misty to come into their cabin.

Ash recounted his experiences in Alto Mare to his traveling companions, still not wanting to tell anyone until he knew more about his ability.

Brock and Misty were shocked at how many times Ash had almost died in the short time they were in Alto Mare. They were aware of Ash's knack for getting into tough situations, having basically signed up for another journey filled with near-death situations by going to Johto with Ash.

After Ash was done recounting his time in Alto Mare, Misty left for her cabin.

"Hey Brock, what's Hoenn like?" Ash asked as he hopped on his bed, hoping his friend would know more about the region than he did.

"I don't know much about it, but there are some interesting Pokémon there, that's for sure. Harrison's Blaziken and Kecleon are from Hoenn."

"Oh yeah, I remember now. Those were strong Pokémon." commented Ash as both he and Brock sat down on their beds.

"Do you think you're going there next?" Brock inquired.

"I don't know, but I'd like to. It all depends when the league starts. I'm not waiting around at home for Kanto's championship."

Brock nodded in understanding, "Hopefully you'll have enough time to do a league after Aerodactyl heals."

"Yeah. I'm gonna help Professor Oak out until Aerodactyl is better, so at least I won't be bored." Ash told Brock.

"That's cool. Maybe you could learn to cook while you're not doing anything." Brock chided lightly.

Ignoring the shot at his cooking skills, Ash spoke, "Maybe."

Both Ash and Brock laid in companionable silence for a short while, when Ash decided to speak, "I'm gonna get some sleep now. We've got a long day tomorrow."

Brock glanced at the time, seeing it was only about 8:00, "Okay. I think I'll do that too." he replied.

"Okay. Night, Brock."

"Night Ash."

* * *

Ash was glad that he had bought tickets for the ship he was on. Normally he would take the cheapest option, but he decided to spend the money because the reward for finishing in the top 8 Silver League reward. Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu enjoyed some of that prize money in the ship's restaurant, on lunch.

The ship was going to dock in Vermillion City at noon, and seeing as how it was almost noon, everyone was having lunch before they docked, so they could go straight from Vermillion to Cerulean.

"So Ash, you can stay at the gym tonight, if you want to." offered Misty as the group paid their bill.

"Sure, that beats the Pokémon Center any day." replied Ash as they left the restaurant to go finish packing in their cabins.

By the time they were ready, Vermillion's port was in sight. Latias and Latios noticed this, and found their way back to Ash.

"Passengers, please be ready to depart the ship in approximately 10 minutes. Thank you." came the Captain's voice over the PA system.

"Everyone ready to go?" Brock inquired.

"Yup!" replied Misty.

"Yeah." Ash responded.

"What about La- well, you know." Brock caught himself mid-sentence, remembering this boat came from the place where Latios and Latias were highly revered, and people around them more than likely knew of the legends.

"They're above us," stated Ash, "When the incident back in Alto Mare happened, I guess I have a sense for where they are."

"That seems pretty useful." Misty remarked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ash replied, thinking about the uses for the first time.

"We should probably get going to the front of the ship, guys." suggested Brock, snapping Ash out of his train of thought.

"Okay." responded Misty.

The ship docked in Vermillion's port shortly after that with no problems, allowing everyone to depart the ship smoothly.

Seeing as Ash, Brock or Misty didn't have anything they needed or wanted to do in Vermillion, the trio was out of the city in a little less than an hour. Actually, Pikachu wanted something. He wanted a rematch with Surge's Raichu, but when they went to Surge's gym, he explained that Raichu had battled a lot today and was exhausted. This left Pikachu visibly disappointed, prompting Surge to promise Pikachu that the next time he came to the Gym, they would have a battle. So Ash, Brock and Misty bade Lt. Surge a farewell and continued onto Route 6 toward Saffron City.

Route 6 was relatively busy, but that was to be expected; the Kanto league challenge was in full swing and trainers were going all over, collecting badges.

Any challengers along the way were quickly dispatched by either Brock or Misty, as Ash didn't really feel like battling. Plus, his Pokémon were still resting from the Silver League. Luckily, Brock and Misty were more than capable trainers.

The route to Saffron took a little longer than expected, so the trio got to the outskirts of the city within a few hours.

"Hey guys, what time is it?" inquired Misty, thinking about how to time their travels.

"Quarter after 4." Latias said, glancing upwards.

"How'd you know that?" Ash asked.

"I'm not really sure, I was always able to tell the time by the position of the sun and light for as long as I can remember." she responded.

"That's really cool!" Ash told Latias, obviously fascinated by Latias' statement.

"I think all Pokémon, at least wild, can tell the time, at least to some extent." Latios interjected.

"I think you're right. I remember my family being able to tell roughly what time it was. I was never great at it though." Pikachu admitted.

"Huh, cool." remarked Ash.

"So do you have the time or not?" Misty repeated her question.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. It's quarter after four." Ash responded sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed he had forgotten to answer her.

"What were you talking about?" Brock asked.

"Latias said she had always been able to tell the time by where the sun was," Ash began, "And Latios thought all wild Pokémon were able to do that. Pikachu said he remembers his family could."

"Hmm, that's interesting," Brock said in thought, "It makes sense, though. I mean, most Pokémon live with or around humans, so it only makes sense they would be able to do that." Misty nodded in agreement to Brock.

"It'll take three more hours to get to Cerulean. Do you want to stop in Saffron?" Misty asked.

"I'd rather keep going," Ash began, "We'll have more time to get through Mt. Moon tomorrow if we get to Cerulean tonight."

"Me too." Brock agreed.

And with that, the trio went through Saffron and on towards Cerulean.

The road to Cerulean was calm, most likely because it was late and most trainers had already made it to a town.

Arriving in Cerulean, Ash, Brock and Misty went off to Misty's house to go to sleep for the night.

* * *

**(A/N) Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry for the long wait, as well. A lot of it was just writer's block, but I'll try not to make excuses for myself.**

**One thing I want to explain to you guys is how I write my dialogue. Basically, any time a Pokémon speaks around Ash, whether it is Ash's or not, it will be written as if any other character were speaking. Just wanted to get that out of the way.**

**Anyway, the next chapter will absolutely not have another four month wait. It should be up soon. I'd also appreciate it if some of you guys either reviewed or sent me a PM telling me how I'm doing. Also want to give a big thanks to those who have followed and added my story to their favorites. It's just an awesome feeling to get that email in my inbox that tells me I've got a new follower or a favorite, so thanks everyone. I'll stop rambling now XD.**

**Until next time,**

**-Ice**


	9. Chapter 9, finally!

"What?!" Misty exclaimed.

"Like, yeah. We thought you'd, like, be fine with it." Violet replied defensively.

"Why wouldn't you ask me? Or tell me, at least?" Misty asked.

"We, like, never thought of it." Lily told her.

"So you mean to tell me you're going on a trip around the world?" Misty asked incredulously.

"Sorry little sis." Daisy consoled.

"Sorry? That means a lot." retorted Misty as she stormed out of the gym.

Ash and Brock were waiting outside of the gym for Misty to return, when they saw Misty walk out with tears streaming down her face.

"Misty!" Brock called as both he and Ash rushed to her.

"I-I can't," she stammered between sobs, "I can't-" Misty tried again, unable to finish her sentence. She turned her back to Ash and Brock, running away.

Brock put his hand on Ash's shoulder, and said, "She needs to be alone. Let's head back to the Center." he suggested, to which Ash nodded.

Latios and Latias trailed behind Ash on the way back to the Pokémon Center. They were well aware of how close Ash was to Misty, but they were not sure what they could do to comfort Ash or Misty, for that matter.

* * *

Misty had run off towards the water, and had been there for a couple hours, 'How could they do that?' Misty thought to herself, 'Now I'm stuck here until my sisters come back." Misty thought, dejected.

It wasn't that Misty didn't enjoy running the gym, it was that she much preferred traveling with Ash and Brock.

Misty was lost in thought, and didn't see Pikachu walk up next to her.

"Hey Misty." greeted Pikachu, prompting Misty to look up and notice him.

"Oh, hi Pikachu," Misty responded, not really sure what to say in response.

"Misty!" called a voice from behind. She looked behind her, only to see Ash coming toward her, with Brock at his side.

"Hey Mist," Ash began, "Feeling alright?"

Misty shook her head, "No, not really," she began, "I have to stay here, and run the gym. I can't come on another journey with you, Ash." said Misty, bluntly.

"Huh?" Ash's face fell, "Why?" he asked,his voice starting to waver.

"My sisters won a trip around the world. That leaves me to take over the gym." she told them.

Ash wasn't sure what to say. He heard what Misty said, but he refused to believe it. Brock was the only one able to find words.

"Well, gym duties come first." Brock said somberly, noticing that Ash was struggling to respond.

"You should probably leave now, guys." Misty said, knowing they needed to get to Pewter by the end of the night.

Ash and Brock nodded, making their way away from Misty, towards Pewter.

* * *

Ash and Brock's trip to Pewter was mostly spent in silence. Neither Ash or Brock really had anything they wanted to talk about. Well, they both wanted to talk about traveling, but that was bound to end up on the topic of Misty.

Ash was mentally going through his journeys he had in Kanto, the Orange Archipelago and Johto. His red-haired friend, the sister he never had. Ash knew she would eventually have to leave, but that still didn't mean he wanted her to.

Brock was having similar thoughts. To him, Misty was like another one of his siblings. He supposed that was why Ash took this so hard. Ash never had any siblings, and Misty was his best friend. He just wished he could help Ash.

* * *

The next morning, Ash and Brock were standing on the outskirts of Pewter, "So I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I guess it is. I'll probably see you in Hoenn, though. Let me know before you leave." Brock responded, extending his hand.

Ash nodded, taking Brock's hand in his own, "See ya Brock."

"Take care Ash."

Ash stood on the path until he could no longer see Brock, his head down. After that, he continued walking. If he could have, Ash would've stayed there for longer, but he knew he had to get moving if he wanted to get home by the end of the day.

* * *

Pikachu knew his trainer was feeling down, and he didn't know what to do. But he felt he should do something. Besides, Ash had always been there to cheer him up, so why couldn't he think of a way to cheer Ash up? He didn't like not being able to help Ash.

Fortunately, most of the sting of Ash's friends leaving was gone about three quarters of the way home, and as they got closer to Pallet, Ash started to cheer up.

"I'm happy to be going home again, Pi." Ash remarked.

"Yeah, so am I. I want to see everyone back at the lab."

"Latias, Latios," Ash began, smiling, "I can't wait for you guys to see everyone back at the lab!"

Latias was excited at the prospect of meeting new Pokémon. However Latios wasn't so thrilled with this idea.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't people see us?" asked Latios.

Ash hummed in thought, "No, probably not. Pallet's a pretty small town, and the only people usually around the lab are the Professor, Gary and Tracey." Latios seemed to not be satisfied with this answer, but he decided not to respond.

As the group continued to walk to Pallet, something came to Ash's attention, and he turned to the two Eon dragons, "I forgot to ask you this earlier, but is it okay if I show you to the Professor? He's going to know you're with me when I catch you two anyway." This seemed reasonable to both dragons, and they gave Ash an affirmative.

* * *

As Ash got closer to his hometown, his spirits were getting higher. Ash, Latios, Latias and Pikachu were nearly to Pallet, and Ash was starting to be able to make out the homes in the distance.

Ash took in a deep breath of air, "Smell that? That's Pallet Town air." remarked Ash with a smile on his face.

Everyone else could clearly see that Ash was really happy to be home again, and were happy that their trainer was feeling better.

"Pikachu, I see it," Ash began, his home coming into view, "I'll race you home!"

Ash took off running towards his house, and Pikachu followed. Truth be told, Pikachu could easily outpace Ash, but it was too much fun for him to hang with Ash until the end, and then beat him, like he did this time.

Ash stood at his doorstep, panting, "Pikachu, why can't you let me win for once?" he said with a smile.

"Because that ego of yours would get too big." retorted Pikachu, playfully,

"Hey!" Ash cried, defensively.

Ash stepped onto his porch and knocked on his door. The short time he waited for his mom to open the door really brought back memories of him before his journey.

The door swung open, revealing Delia Ketchum and Mimey, who was Delia's Mr. Mime.

"Ash!" Delia exclaimed, crushing Ash in a hug, obviously happy to see her son again.

"Hey mom," he choked out, "You're crushing me."

"Sorry dear," responded Delia as she loosened her grip on Ash, "I'm just so happy to see you again! I'm very proud of how you did in the Silver League Conference, too. You're the face of Pallet, now!"

"Thanks mom." Ash replied. If his mom would have said that to him directly following the League, he would've moped about how he didn't do well, and how he was feeling like quitting, even after a very respectable performance.

"And hello to you Pikachu!" Delia exclaimed when she saw Pikachu next to Ash, bending down to scratch the mouse's cheeks.

"Cha!" cooed Pikachu as he leaned into Delia's touch.

"Now, Ash. How about you go down to the lab and see your Pokémon? I just started dinner and we have a guest coming over tonight, so I have to get things ready for that."

"Who's visiting, mom?" Ash inquired.

"He told me not to tell you. I guess he wanted it to be a surprise."

"Alright," began Ash, slightly disappointed that his mom did not provide an answer, "I guess I'll be at the lab if you need me. Bye mom!" Ash yelled as he started to jog off.

* * *

"Professor Oak!" Ash called, knocking on the door to Oak's lab.

"One moment!" came a muffled voice from inside the door.

"Ash!" Tracey, now revealed to be the muffled voice, exclaimed as he opened the door.

"Tracey! Good to see you!" Ash replied, equally excited to see his friend.

The pair caught up with one another, and Ash was happy that Tracey was enjoying working with the Professor.

"Speaking of the Professor, where is he?" Ash asked.

"He should still be out back," said Tracey, glancing at the clock on the wall, "You can go ahead and see him if you want."

"Okay. Thanks Tracey."

Ash continued out back, calling the Professor's name as he looked for him. The Professor obviously heard his calls, and started heading towards his lab.

"Ash, my boy!" greeted Oak, "It's good to see you again!" spoke the Professor as he shook Ash's hand.

"You too Professor! I came to drop off the rest off my Pokémon, and to give you Aerodactyl."

"Ah, yes! Aerodactyl! Go ahead and let your Pokémon out, and come see me after that."

"Okay Professor." responded Ash as he headed back to where he saw his Pokémon.

Ash went to find his Pokémon, many of which tackled him when they realized he was back. He rounded all of his Pokémon up, letting out the rest of his team members so they could relax. Even though Ash would have loved to stay there the rest of the day, he quickly excused himself, and headed back towards the lab.

"Ash, I'm upstairs!" called Oak, hearing his back door opening.

Ash followed the Professor's voice upstairs, and was greeted with a large stretcher, lots of medical machinery, and Professor Oak, naturally.

"So Ash," began the Professor, "The Nurse Joy in Alto Mare sent me all of Aerodactyl's records, so I am prepared to take care of it. Just release it here." Professor Oak explained, gesturing towards the stretcher.

"Her." corrected Ash, releasing Aerodactyl onto the table.

"How'd you know that? Not even the files Nurse Joy sent over had her gender!" Professor Oak exclaimed, curious as to how Ash knew the gender of the prehistoric Pokémon.

"Well, I asked her." Ash replied, somewhat deadpan.

"And she understood you?" Professor Oak inquired. He wasn't surprised that Ash would be able to understand her response, as many Pokémon reacted when you guessed their gender. He was, however, surprised that a Pokémon that had just been revived from prehistoric times was able to understand Ash.

"Yeah, I think so," responded Ash, before turning to Aerodactyl, "Hey Aerodactyl, this is Professor Oak. He'll have you feeling better in no time!" Ash exclaimed, as Aerodactyl eyed the Professor warily. Ash noticed this, and said, "Don't worry girl, you can trust him. I've got to go back home now, but I'll be back later tonight." Ash finished, receiving a low caw in response.

"I'll see you later tonight, Ash." Professor Oak said.

"Bye Professor!" Ash yelled back, already halfway down the stairs.

Ash stepped out back to the Professor's corral to grab Pikachu, and, of course Latias and Latios. Ash hadn't caught them yet, and hadn't introduced them to the rest of his Pokémon. He would do that later in the day. For now, they were going with him.

Ash made his way back to his house, recognizing the smell of his mom's cooking before he even opened the door. Ash smiled at this smell, pausing a moment to take it in, before opening the door.

All Ash knew was that his mom said they were having a guest, but the person sitting at the table was probably the last person he expected, save for Lance, the champion of Kanto and Johto.

"Uncle Riley?" Ash inquired, seeing the person sitting at the dining room table. Ash hadn't seen Riley since just before he turned 10, and hadn't spoken to him since just before the Silver League.

"Ash!" exclaimed Riley, getting up from the table to embrace Ash. Riley was not Ash's uncle by blood, or even by law, but Riley was one of the few father figures Ash had, and Riley had no intention of changing that.

Riley was a family friend, even before Ash's father left. When Riley heard that Ash's father had left the family, he took it upon himself to step in, at least the little bit that his schedule would allow, to help raise Ash, even though the times he could see him in person were far and few between.

"Is this the Riley you told me about?" Pikachu asked. He had never seen Riley in person, and was surprised that he had such an Aura of power around him. Almost like Latios or Latias, but they weren't nearby. They were flying around over Pallet.

"Yes I am, Pikachu. I assume you're the Pikachu Ash told me about?" Riley countered with a smirk.

"I am, but how did you understand me?" Pikachu asked, surprised.

Riley smirked, and let a blue glow surround his hands, "Aura," he explained, letting the Aura dissipate, "I can tell you about it later, but I think we've got dinner to eat, judging by the smell of things."

At the mention of dinner, Ash bolted to his seat at the dining room table.

Riley smiled, "I guess some things never change." he quipped.

The bulk of the the conversation that accompanied dinner was about Ash, with Riley telling a few of his own experiences.

After dinner, the new topic of discussion was Ash's Pokémon. Riley had heard of some of them before, and seen many of them on Ash's televised battles. He was genuinely excited to take a look at them.

On the way down to the lab, Ash had quite a few burning questions for Riley, but he couldn't ask these yet. Not until he showed the dragons to Riley, that is.

Ash mainly was wondering if he was an Aura user. The recent situation with the Eon dragons piqued his interest about this sort of thing, considering that, according to Latios, he had part of a Latios' soul. Ash recently beginning to have flashes of blue in his vision was also something he wanted to discuss with Riley.

Ash and Riley arrived at the door of Professor Oak's lab, and knocked, being let in by the Professor himself, who was pleasantly surprised to see Riley, not knowing he was in town.

Although he was fine with the Professor and Riley talking amongst themselves, Ash was very anxious to show his Pokémon to Riley, and practically dragged him away from the Professor. For how much prowess he had made as a trainer, he was still a kid, after all.

Ash called all of his Pokémon together to introduce them to Riley, and Riley was impressed with how healthy and happy Ash's Pokémon appeared to be.

"Riley, I've got a few more special Pokémon to show you," Ash turned to the rest of his Pokémon, "This goes for you guys too!" Ash turned his head to the sky, "Guys, come on down!"

Riley felt a massive amount of Aura approaching them, and he nearly went into self-defense mode, before realizing Ash's Pokémon would never hurt him. But Riley couldn't think of any recent capture Ash could have that would emanate such raw power.

"Go ahead and show yourselves!" Ash called. On cue, both Latios and Latias dropped their cloaks of invisibility, "Come over here, you two," Again, the two dragons came to Ash, who pulled out two Poké Balls, "Ready?" he asked the dragons, who nodded, and let Ash tap the Poké Balls to them, effectively capturing them without a struggle. He then released them again, introducing them to his Pokémon, "Hey guys, this is Latios and Latias. They're the newest members of our family, so make 'em feel welcome!"

Ash's Pokémon were introducing themselves to the legendary dragons, who seemed to be getting along well with Ash's Pokémon, and Riley couldn't believe it. He just witnessed the boy he called his nephew capture two of some of the rarest Pokémon in the world, and they didn't even put up a fight. Ash was watching his Pokémon interact with one another, when he heard Riley's confused stammering from behind him, and walked over to see what the matter was.

"What's wrong Riley?" Ash asked, seeing how Riley was struggling to find his words.

Riley shook himself out of his moment of shock and awe, and spoke, "Nothing, Ash. But, how did you get those two dragons?"

Ash shrugged, "They followed me and they wanted to come with me." Ash didn't really think it was a big deal, partially because things like this had happened to him before, and partially because he didn't know he had two Legendary Pokémon in his possession.

"Ash, do you know you have two Legendary Pokémon that listen to your every word right in front of you? That doesn't just happen every day."

"Legendary?" Ash furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "Latios, Latias, come here for a sec." Both dragons excused themselves from Ash's Pokémon and went to him, "Guys, why didn't you tell me you were Legendary Pokémon?"

Latios and Latias looked at each other and then back at Ash, "I guess it slipped our minds." Latias spoke.

Ash shook his head, chuckling, "Anyway guys, this is Riley. He's not really my uncle but I call him my uncle."

"I think I speak for both of us when I say it's a pleasure to meet you, Riley." Latios spoke dipping his head slightly, with Latias mirroring the action.

"It's a pleasure for me to meet you both, as well." Riley spoke, bowing to them.

"You can understand us? That's interesting. It was odd enough for us to find out Ash could understand us. Not that I'm complaining, though." Latios spoke.

"It is rare that a human would understand Pokémon, but the reason I can do that stems from my Aura. I can sho- Wait. Did you say Ash could understand you?" Riley asked as what the dragons said dawned on him, "Explain." he requested, turning to Ash.

"Sure. It's a long story though."

"We have time." Riley responded.

* * *

"So you're telling me that you saved these two from Team Rocket, and they saved the city from being hit by a tidal wave?"

"Basically." Ash replied.

Riley shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time that night, still not fully believing the absurdity of Ash's situation, "So about you having a Latios' soul. I don't exactly know very much about these things, but me and Cass can check right now if you want to."

"Cass?" Latias asked, not recognizing the name.

"My Riolu." Riley elaborated.

"Sure! I'd love to see Cass again!" Ash replied, excited to see Cass, for the first time in nearly two years.

"Alright then, I guess we'll do it now." Riley said, releasing the young jackal, who, upon being released, noticed the Legendary Pokémon in front of her, and bowed deeply before turning back to Riley.

"What do you need, Riley?" She asked, not really knowing why she had been released in front of two Legendary Pokémon.

"Look around you. We're back in Pallet." Riley explained.

The Riolu did as she was told, looking around, only to find the person she had been wanting to see ever since they last left Pallet, "Ash!" she exclaimed, running over to see him.

"Cass! It's awesome to see you!" Ash said, returning her hug.

"How have you been? It's been so long since I've actually seen you!" Cass asked telepathically, her tail wagging. Normally a Riolu wouldn't be able to use Aura, but Cass was special in the sense that she had a little more control over her Aura than the average Riolu, although still nowhere near enough to perform Aura Sphere.

"I've been great! I know you've seen Pikachu over the video phones before, but I have a bunch of other Pokémon too! They're all over there." Ash said, pointing to his Pokémon, who all greeted Cass when she looked at them.

"Cass, as much as I'd love to let you socialize with Ash, I called you out to ask you a favor. I need you to help check Ash's Aura and his soul for me." Riley said to his Riolu, who cocked her head in confusion, "Ash's Latios here says that he gave Ash a part of his soul, and I feel like we should double check."

Cass nodded, and looked towards Ash before doing a double-take, "Wait, your Latios? How?" Cass asked out loud, then realized her mistake and said it through telepathy.

"I understood you the first time, Cass. But yes, he is my Latios. And yes, Latias is mine too." Ash replied.

"Someone fill me in please." Cass asked.

"After," Riley began, "First, we need to take a look at Ash."

"Right. Ash, just sit down and let your mind and body relax. This won't take long." Cass explained, getting ready to scan Ash.

The process was quick, though it left both Riley and Cass both somewhat tired, although Cass was more tired, as she was still only a Riolu.

"Well, I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news, Ash. You don't have the soul of a Latios, or any Pokémon, for that matter." Riley explained, "We did, however, find that you have unusually deep Aura reserves and they seem to be growing in size. That's definitely a good thing, but it points to something you may be very happy to hear." Riley explained, "Cass, you wanna tell him?"

"That means you might be able to wield Aura!" Cass exclaimed, her tail wagging happily again.

"Well, I guess that answers my question, then." Ash said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"I was seeing flashes of blue when I closed my eyes sometimes, and they would just go away. I couldn't think of anything other than Aura Sight when I thought of seeing blue when you closed your eyes. I remember you told me about it last time." Ash explained.

"That's probably what it was, then. These are all great signs, Ash. The world desperately needs more Aura users, especially since your family has only had one since the times of Sir Aaron." Riley said, his smile growing.

"So how do I do it?" Ash asked, practically ready to explode. He'd always wanted to use Aura after seeing Riley use it in front of him, and now he might be actually be able to use it? He felt like he was on top of the world.

Riley was excited for Ash, and actually, himself as well. There were so few people left in this world that could harness and wield Aura, and he, out of all people, was getting the chance to take Ash as his student. It seems Arceus had some say in this turn of events.

"Until I teach you how, you shouldn't try to use it," Riley began, "Aura can be dangerous both to others and yourself if you don't know how to use it. How about we start tomorrow?" he suggested. Riley wasn't planning to stay in Pallet for very long, but he supposed this was worth calling his superior to ask for leave on, especially considering it is his duty as an Aura Guardian to help foster the growth of Aura in the next generation of youth.

Truth be told, Riley knew Ash would be able to wield Aura since he was born. He just didn't tell Ash because he was afraid he would go off and hurt himself trying to use it, and that Ash hadn't started to grow into his Aura until just recently.

"Ash, didn't you say that you had someone else you wanted to introduce me to?" Riley asked, remembering Ash had said there was another Pokémon.

This snapped Ash out of his daydreams, his mind returning to the present, "Oh yeah! Come on, she's inside." Ash said, starting off towards the lab.

As they walked the short distance back to the lab, the enormity of the day's events started to dawn on Riley. Ash was starting to develop his Aura, and he caught two Legendary Pokémon. He felt proud of Ash, actually. Even though the two were not related, he couldn't help but feel proud of the kid he called his nephew.

"She's in a room upstairs. Follow me!" Ash told Riley as he went up the staircase. As interested as he was in Ash's new capture, Riley didn't know how it could top what already happened today.

Unless it was another Legendary, of course.

Riley didn't know just how close that was to the truth. They had just entered the room that housed Ash's other recent capture, and Riley couldn't believe his eyes.

"An Aerodactyl?!" Riley exclaimed. He could barely handle the two Legendary dragons, but now Ash had a prehistoric Pokémon? He couldn't believe it.

Professor Oak heard Riley's outburst, and came to see if everything was alright. When he saw Riley was just shocked, he decided to speak, "Aerodactyl's quite the Pokémon, isn't she?" the Professor mused.

"No kidding." Riley responded, his eyes not leaving the prehistoric bird Pokémon. She was definitely a sight to behold. The more he thought about it, the more he thought something was different from the only other Aerodactyl he had seen, which belonged to Lance, the Champion of Kanto and Johto.

"Say, Professor, is Ash's Aerodactyl different than Lance's?" Riley asked. He knew something was different, but he couldn't put a finger on what it was.

"That's actually what I was just trying to find out." the Professor admitted, "I actually think Ash's is a slightly different color than Lance's, aside from Ash's being bigger."

"Wait, so is Aerodactyl shiny?" Ash asked. He wasn't paying enough attention to remember if any sparkles left Aerodactyl's Poké Ball when she was released.

"That looks to be the case, yes." Professor Oak confirmed.

"But, couldn't Lance's be shiny? Aerodactyl aren't exactly a common Pokémon, and Lance's is the only other person I know that owns one." Riley protested. Not that he wanted to spoil Ash thinking he had a shiny Pokémon, but he wanted to know for sure.

"The other Aerodactyl I met looked more like Lance's, now that I think about it. It was smaller than mine, too." Ash recalled, thinking about the incident at Grandpa Canyon.

"Which means it was probably a normal male." Professor Oak deduced, "Meaning that yours is most likely shiny, Ash."

"Lance is going to love hearing about this." Riley said with a grin, knowing for a fact that the Champion would be jealous.

"Riley, you know Lance?" Ash asked.

"Of course, Ash. I work for him, remember?"

"Oh yeah! I kinda forgot you were a part of the G-Men." Ash said, sheepishly.

Riley shook his head, chuckling, "I've told you that more times than I can remember." he smiled, "Now, why don't we go give Lance a call. Professor, can we use the phone?"

"Of course, Riley. And please, call me Samuel." Professor Oak said with a smile.

"Thanks Samuel." Riley responded as he took Ash to the phone. 'Lance is going to love this.' he thought, smirking internally.

Riley went to the videophone, and punched in Lance's number. After a few moments, the Champion picked up.

"Good evening Samuel." the Champion spoke, recognizing the number.

"Good evening Lance," Riley responded back, with Lance not yet realizing he was not speaking to the Professor. He hadn't even looked up at the screen yet, "And I'm not the Professor, either."

Lance finally looked up, his eyes lighting up in recognition of Riley, although not yet noticing Ash, "Oh, Riley! I didn't know you were at Samuel's Lab."

"Well, I'm only here because Ash here wanted to show me his Pokémon." Riley admitted, ruffling Ash's hair.

Fixing his hair, Ash spoke, "Hey Lance! How's Gyarados?"

At the mention of Gyarados, Lance made the connection of who exactly he was speaking with, "Hello Ash! Gyarados is doing quite well. It's been quite a while since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time," Ash responded, "I just got back home from the Silver Conference. I came in the top 8!" Ash told Lance.

"That's great Ash. I'm sure you'll only get better from here," Lance spoke, "Now Riley, why did you call me? You know after conferences is when I'm the busiest. I was just trying to finish the last of the paperwork from the Silver Conference." Lance said, somewhat annoyed he had been taken away from his work.

"Well, I had a question for you, Lance." Riley began.

"Fire away."

"What color is your Aerodactyl?"

Lance sighed, "He's gray. Was that really the only question you wanted to ask?"

"No, actually. Are you sure he's not pink-ish?"

"Positive. Why?"

"Well, today I saw an Aerodactyl that was pink with blue under the wings."

"Really? Did you catch it?" Lance practically shot up at the mention of another Aerodactyl, let alone a different colored one.

"Nope!" Riley said with an accomplished smile, puffing his chest out slightly.

On the other end of the phone, Lance face faulted, "Why not?" he practically whined.

"She already had a trainer." Riley replied simply.

"Well, I guess that does make sense. Do you know who her trainer is?" Lance asked, already back to normal.

"He's right in front of you." Riley responded

"I thought you just told me you didn't catch her."

Now it was Riley's turn to face fault, "No, Ash caught her!" Sometimes he doubted the capability of the Champion. Now was one of those times.

"Really? Let me see her!" Lance couldn't pass up this chance to see another Aerodactyl.

"I can't. Her wing is broken." Ash jumped in.

"If I come over to you can I see her?" Lance asked.

"Ash?" Riley directed the question to him.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Ash responded.

"Great! I'm coming over right now! Stay at the lab!" Lance said, ending the call before anyone could get another word in.

Riley turned to Ash and said, "I guess he's made up his mind." he said with a sigh.

* * *

"Ash, your Aerodactyl is magnificent!" Lance exclaimed. He was examining Ash's Aerodactyl, amazed at her beauty.

"Thanks Lance, but I think she doesn't like how close you are." Ash noted, seeing at how Aerodactyl was eyeing the Champion. He had been like this for nearly a half an hour.

Lance noticed this, and backed off, "Sorry. It's just that I haven't seen another Aerodactyl in my life, and yours is shiny!" Lance was like a kid in a candy store.

"That's okay, but I think she wants to be alone now." Ash was getting vibes from his Aerodactyl that she wanted to be away from Lance.

"Alright," Lance relinquished, "Although I was hoping this would be a longer visit. It's been a pleasure Ash, Riley."

"Lance, before you go. I wanted to request an indefinite amount of time off work." Riley said.

"Reason?"

"Well, Ash might be able to wield Aura. I need to train him." Riley responded.

"Granted. Keep me updated and I'll call you if anything comes up. Good luck."

"Thank you Lance."

"You're welcome," he replied, turning to Ash, and handing him a slip of paper, "Here's my number, Ash. Call me if you need help with Aerodactyl, and please, don't give this number to anyone else."

"Okay Lance. Before you go, I wanted to show you something out back." Ash said.

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure it won't top Aerodactyl. No offense."

"We'll see." Ash said with a knowing smile.

* * *

**(A/N) Well, I have absolutely no excuses for this long of a wait between chapters. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, though. Let me know if you liked it and how I can improve it. Sorry if this felt rushed, but it was lol. None of the italicizes text made it through, but I'll fix that later. I wanted to get this out tonight. Anyway, hope you guys had a Merry Christmas for those who celebrated it, and have a Happy New Year! Thanks for reading. Until next time.**


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